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. Well, not too much running. The temperatures are in the mid-forties during the day in Riyadh, and it is hard to overstate how much of a shock it can be at first, but the mercury will soon start to drop to more manageable levels.
Saudi spending has also dropped since that summer of 2023 when SPL clubs splashed out more than £700m on players such as Karim Benzema (who is poised to leave Al-Hilal), N’Golo Kanté, Riyad Mahrez, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mané and others with the experience to go with their star power. The focus since has switched to younger and cheaper options who offer resale value.
Théo Hernandez at Al-Hilal came in 2025 for not much more than £20m. The teenage striker Mohamed Kader Meïté came from Rennes for not much more and the 18-year-old Côte d’Ivoire Under-23 international has opened his account for the season.
Watkins, at 30, is a bit different. It shows there is money available for the right stars and, given the bewildering sums flying around the Premier League, the reported fee of just over £50m does not seem especially excessive. Al-Hilal’s transfer dealings are, perhaps, slightly different from those of the other top teams. The Blues were part of the Big Four taken over by the Public Investment Fund in 2023 but were handed over to the billionaire businessman Prince Al Waleed bin Talal this year.
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Al-Hilal’s spending has outstripped the others’ in this window and the pressure is on. Watkins is used to Villa, a second-level Premier League team unable to challenge for the title, a situation reinforced over the past few weeks as the Europa League winners have sold players. Now he is at a club that demands success, the epitome of Asia’s establishment.
Al-Ahli, helped by Ivan Toney, are of the same stature. Another, more personal, prize may be up for grabs in the international arena and Tuesday night in Riyadh is an opportunity for Watkins and Toney to grab English – and German – attention.