Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney spent 33 minutes on the pitch together a few weeks ago in Miami as England beat France 6-4 in a game for third place at the World Cup. They will be reunited on Tuesday in Riyadh for Al-Hilal v Al-Ahli, the first big clash between title hopefuls in the Saudi Pro League season. Aston Villa fans will be hoping that, starting against Arsenal on Monday, Nicolas Jackson can quickly help them forget their departed talisman.
That’s what Toney did at Brentford back in 2020 when he replaced Watkins. It may not only be supporters in the West Midlands and west London who will be curious to see how their alumni get on in west Asia. England’s heach coach, Thomas Tuchel, will surely tune in (or even turn up?) to get a look at the two forwards battling to become the clear understudy to Harry Kane as a new international cycle starts.
Before that bronze-medal match, Watkins and Toney had enough time together in North America on and off the bench to chat about Saudi Arabia. The former has joined Al-Hilal and probably doesn’t need any advice on how to score goals in the Saudi Pro League but if he does then his Three Lions teammate is the man to ask. Toney arrived in the Middle East two years ago, signing for Al-Ahli in Jeddah, the country’s most passionate football city, to play under Matthias Jaissle.
He took a little time to get going in his first season but ended with 23 league goals and the Asian Champions League title, the club’s first. The second brought 32 league goals and Toney was pipped to the Golden Boot by Julián Quiñones on the final day but there was the small consolation of a second Asian triumph. With four goals in three games this season, more honours, of a personal and team nature, are on the cards.
Al-Ahli have won one domestic league title in more than 40 years and that is their focus this season but Watkins joins a historically winning machine with record hauls at home and in Asia – 19 and four respectively. Even before the big spending started in the summer of 2023, Al-Hilal were an institution and could make a case for being the biggest in Asia, with social media followings that ranked alongside any in the world. Finishing second, as they did last season, is not tolerated for long and there has been plenty of criticism of the coach, Simone Inzaghi, for allowing their local rivals Al-Nassr, for whom Cristiano Ronaldo plays, to win last season.
Watkins’ timing off the pitch looks as good as that on it. He is joining a team that appear to be approaching top gear, scoring nine goals in their first two league games. With service from Rúben Neves, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Crysencio Summerville and, potentially, Gabriel Martinelli, the forward should hit the ground running.
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