‘Ivan Toney to rue Chelsea snub after Thomas Tuchel nightmare with England’
Ivan Toney must be largely regretting his move to Saudi Arabia following the awful treatment shown to him by Thomas Tuchel.
The 29-year-old was accused of only thinking about money when choosing Saudi Pro League side Al Ahli last summer, and it is difficult to argue against when the striker reportedly picks up £21million a year [Mirror].
Money like that could help support his family well into the future, and with a very short window for a career in the sport, there is absolutely a reason for younger players to begin making the move.
However, the transfer away from Europe seems to have completely backfired amid Tuchel’s England reign, playing just two minutes of football since the German’s appointment in March.
Ivan Toney the only victim of Thomas Tuchel’s reign
Having failed to get off the bench during a sluggish 1-0 win over Andorra on Saturday, 7 June, many fans expected the former Bees’ forward to make an appearance at the City Ground against Senegal.
Despite taking the lead through Harry Kane, Ismaila Sarr and Habib Diarra hit back to give the African side an unlikely lead, eventually going on to win the game 3-1 in front of a fuming England crowd.
While Tuchel was desperate for an equaliser for the best part of 30 minutes, Kane was replaced by Man City-linked Aston Villa star Morgan Rogers, and Noni Madueke was later brought on as reinforcement.
This was all happening while Toney watched on from the bench, being left out yet again, only to replace Myles Lewis-Skelly with two minutes of normal time left to play. Just baffling.
England boss stamps down on lack of European action
Tuchel has already expressed his desire for most of his players to be regularly battling in European competitions, alluding to the likes of Everton’s Jordan Pickford and Man City’s out-of-action Jack Grealish.
Toney was not even called up to the German’s first squad in March, and the decision to include him the second time around raised a lot of eyebrows, but the Three Lions are in desperate need of another sensational goalscorer.
He was heavily involved in Gareth Southgate‘s Euro 2024 squad, even making an appearance in the final against Spain, but he has played just two minutes of football for the national team since.
That likely comes down to the player’s decision to move out to Saudi Arabia last summer because, even with 30 goals in 44 appearances in the Middle East, Tuchel is clearly not backing down on his words.
According to Sky Sports (August 2024), Chelsea made a move to sign the striker from Brentford last summer in their quest for a reliable centre-forward, but he would eventually sign for Al Ahli.
While there were plenty of pros and cons to weigh up ahead of his big-money move to Saudi Arabia, it is clear that any hope of representing his country regularly has gone up in smoke, especially under Tuchel.
The ex-Chelsea boss’ time in charge of the Three Lions is already starting to falter, and there are questions to be asked as to why he bothered to call Toney up for this squad in the first place, let alone after wasting his time over two games.
Had the 29-year-old stayed and forced through a move to Stamford Bridge, albeit on a lower wage than he is now, he would be less likely to be looking unhappy on the bench, while being made fun of at international level.