Ivan Toney underlined why he rejected a move to Juventus by cementing his position as Harry Kane’s main England replacement.
The 29-year-old took full advantage of Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal by becoming Saudi Arabia’s top goalscorer, twice leaving the football icon behind.
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The former Brentford player scored 19 goals in as many games in a 2-0 win over Al-Hazem to take Al-Ahli to second place in the table.
Ironically, Toney’s team overtook Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr just as the England international was pulling away from the 41-year-old.
In total, Toney has 27 goals and eight assists in 30 appearances – with Kane the only Three Lions star with better numbers this season.
This means that national coach Thomas Tuchel has to make a big decision. No other Englishman has even reached double figures in goals in the league in the 2025/26 season, with Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden falling just short of that mark in all competitions.
Toney’s performance makes it all the more surprising he played just two minutes of football for England since then Euro 2024.
Ivan Toney’s England record
He has played just one of his seven England caps – a 2-2 friendly draw at Wembley against Belgium in 2024, in which he scored a goal.
Toney appeared as a substitute three times at Euro 2024 and played a crucial role in the dramatic 2-1 comeback win against Slovakia.
The striker scored a penalty in the shootout against Switzerland and was also used in the final defeat against Spain.
However, he has only played once under Thomas Tuchel, in the final stages of a 3-1 friendly defeat against Senegal.
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England’s top scorers in the 2025/26 league
- Harry Kane: 22 goals/4 assists in 20 games
- Ivan Toney: 19 goals/4 assists in 19 games
- Dominic Calvert-Lewin: 9 goals/1 assist in 22 games.
- Jarrod Bowen: 8 goals/2 assists in 24 games.
- Ollie Watkins 8 goals/1 assist in 23 games.
- Marcus Rashford: 4 goals/8 assists in 20 games.
- Dominic Solanke: 2 goals/0 assists in 5 games.
- Liam Delap: 1 goal/1 assist in 15 games
Cross-competition for the 2025/26 season
- Harry Kane 36 goals/4 assists in 32 appearances.
- Ivan Toney 27 goals/8 assists in 30 appearances.
- Marcus Rashford: 10 goals/13 assists in 33 appearances.
- Phil Foden 10 goals/4 assists in 34 appearances.
- Dominic Calvert-Lewin: 9 goals/1 assist in 23 appearances.
- Jarrod Bowen: 8 goals/3 assists in 26 appearances.
- Ollie Watkins 8 goals/1 assist in 33 appearances.
- Dominic Solanke: 4 goals/0 assists in 9 appearances.
- Liam Delap: 2 goals/1 assists in 21 appearances.
Toney rejects Juventus transfer
Toney has not been named in any of the three England camps this season and could even be behind Foden when it comes to Tuchel’s striker options.
He was told a transfer could increase his chances of being recalled by the Three Lions, with two Premier League clubs interested.
His former Brentford manager Thomas Frank was open to signing him for Tottenham, while West Ham were also monitoring his situation.
The Pitch Prospect understands Toney rejected a potential move to Juventus on deadline day, where coach Luciano Spalletti identified him as a target.
Despite the obvious lure of playing for one of Italy’s most important clubs, the seven-time England international wants to win more silver medals with Al-Ahli before considering a possible move abroad.
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Toney, who won the Asian Champions League trophy after scoring 30 goals in his first year, went on to win the Saudi Super Cup.
The £40million signing, who served an eight-month ban for breaching betting rules three years ago, is now in top physical shape.
Toney has fully adapted to the Saudi heat and The Pitch Prospect can reveal he is faster in speed tests than he has ever been in his career.
Toney said: “I feel like I’m doing well at the moment and I can keep scoring goals [here in Saudi Arabia] will give me a better chance of getting to what may be my only World Championship.
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“Harry Kane is the best finisher in football; his numbers are outrageous. I think he scored more goals than he played.
“For me it’s not easy to score goals in this league, it’s not easy. It’s difficult. Because I’m there, in the team I’m in, I have a chance.
“We have some good players who enjoy assisting and luckily they have a striker who likes to score and wants more.”
Toney’s status as Saudi Arabia’s top goalscorer remains secured for at least another week, with Ronaldo expected to miss a second game for Al Nassr.
However, CR7’s teammates will be in action against Al-Ittihad on Friday at 5:30pm LIVE on The Pitch Prospect’s YouTube channel.