Pete O’Rourke has revealed what he has heard from his sources about the possibility of Tottenham signing a former Premier League striker.
Thomas Frank has opened the door to reuniting with Ivan Toney at Tottenham, and that has led to some excitement among Tottenham fans.
The Dane’s statement comes amidst speculation that Tottenham may be prepared to offer Toney a route back to the Premier League, around 15 months on from his move from Brentford to Saudi Arabia.
The 29-year-old is continuing to bang in goals with astonishing regularity, having scored 40 goals and provided eight assists in 58 appearances for his club, but Spurs have now heard some bad news about his potential availability.
What Al-Ahli are thinking about Tottenham’s interest in Ivan Toney
A few days ago, journalist Dean Jones revealed that Toney is not in a hurry to return to the Premier League and is happy to remain at the Saudi club.
Now, Pete O’Rourke has explained that Al-Ahli are also not in favour of a January sale, with the club hunting the Saudi Pro League title.
When asked about the speculation over Toney’s future, the journalist told Football Insider: “I think Toney‘s quite happy with life out there as well in the Middle East. He’s been a big success for Al-Ahli, 40 goals and eight assists in 58 appearances, that’s pretty good going by anybody’s standards.
“Al-Ahli have no real desire to let their top goalscorer leave in January as well as they want to try and win the Saudi Pro League title. It looks a difficult deal to do for so many reasons. Al-Ahli don’t really want to lose Toney and Toney’s not pushing for a move just yet either, despite maybe hoping to boost his chances of being in that England squad for next summer’s World Cup.”
Spurs more likely to make a move for Toney under one condition
O’Rourke opined that the England international would be a good fit for Tottenham, but pointed out that Thomas Frank is not short of options upfront.
The journalist suggested that Spurs are unlikely to sign another number nine in January unless they sell one of their centre-forwards.
He added: “Tottenham would be a good fit because of the Thomas Frank situation with Ivan Toney, but you’ve got to remember Tottenham have got a lot of attacking options in that team as well.
“Solanke out injured at the minute, they’ll be hoping they can get him back. Kolo Muani’s just returned from injury as well and then they’ve got Richarlison and Mathys Tel as well.
“They are quite well stocked in that area of the team. If maybe one of those players was to leave in January, then that might increase the likelihood of Tottenham bringing in a new striker in January.”