Ivan Toney sends fresh message to Thomas Frank and Tottenham as struggles continue

England international striker Ivan Toney excelled under current Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank when the pair were together at Brentford but now plays for Al-Ahli

The January transfer window represents a final chance for Ivan Toney to secure a Premier League return before World Cup 2026 and the Al-Ahli scorer has been in fine form. The 29-year-old England international bagged a brace in his team's first outing of the new calendar year and scored again over the weekend - taking his current run of fine form to six goals in his last six games.

Toney scored the only goal of the game as Al-Ahli beat Al-Okhdood on Saturday. It was his ninth goal in 12 league games this season and his 17th in all competitions and helped his team end the weekend in fourth place.

The former Brentford striker moved to Saudi Arabia for a reported £40m in the summer of 2024 and took to his new surroundings like a duck to water, scoring 30 goals in all competitions last season. He has largely found himself out of the England picture, though, playing just two minutes for the national team since Thomas Tuchel took over as manager in January 2025.

There have been suggestions he might entertain a Premier League return in the hope it allows him to play himself back into Tuchel's good books. A rumoured Everton switch now looks unlikely but a reunion with former Brentford boss Thomas Frank continues to be raised as an option.

Sky Sports previously reported that Toney is open to a move back to England to boost his hopes of a spot in Tuchel's World Cup squad, though Al-Ahli are not said to be in any rush to sell. Any move would need to be the right one, but Spurs' form this season may convince the London side need more firepower in attack.

Injuries to Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison and Dominic Solanke have left Frank's side short of options in attack. Solanke returned from the bench against Aston Villa in the FA Cup but has not started a match since May.

Additionally, Spurs' front-line has recently been depleted by the loss of Mohammed Kudus, who is expected to be out injured until the spring. They also cashed in on Brennan Johnson, who joined Crystal Palace for around £35million, and Frank indicated there will be money to spend in the January window.

"I think, when you want to improve the squad, of course there are some positions that are maybe more obvious than others, but we are out there," Frank said. "If we can improve the squad, we’ll improve the squad."

England midfielder Conor Gallagher and Brazilian defender Souza are both expected to join, while questions will continue to be asked about Toney given his history with Frank in West London. The striker played 83 Premier League matches for Brentford during the Danish manager's time in charge and scored 36 goals in the competition, including 20 in the 2022/23 season.

"I don't think there are many strikers in the world who are better than him right now," Frank said in February 2024 when accepting Toney was likely to leave Brentford that summer. "He's a really good striker who is in his prime footballing age."