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Tottenham have now been told what it’s going to take to strike a January deal for Al-Ahli striker Ivan Toney, following the player’s alleged talks with former boss Thomas Frank.

Spurs’ immediate need for a new centre-forward might dwindle in the eyes of some once Dominic Solanke returns to full fitness, with Randal Kolo Muani also steadily getting up to speed after spending most of this season out injured.

Kolo Muani notched an impressive assist against FC Copenhagen in Spurs’ last outing, but missed glorious chances to double the home side’s lead, much to the bewilderment of Xavi Simons, who put the ball on a plate for the Frenchman twice.

However, while Kolo Muani earned Frank’s praise for his overall display at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, it is important to remember that the 27-year-old is only on a dry loan and there is no guarantee he stays beyond 2025/2026.

Meanwhile, Richarlison has been heavily criticised for his form lately, and his abject penalty miss against Copenhagen, immediately after taking the ball off Dane Scarlett, best sums up the Brazilian’s woes right now.

According to some reports, with his contract expiring in 2027, Richarlison could well leave Tottenham in January and there are suggestions that he would jump at the chance to re-join Everton.

However, any transfer for the 28-year-old may well hinge on Spurs finding a winter replacement.

Depending on developments surrounding Richarlison and the long-term future of Kolo Muani, Tottenham could suddenly find themselves needing a new number nine after all.

Ahead of the 2026 World Cup, Toney is being linked as one of their many potential options alongside the likes of Juventus striker Dušan Vlahović.

Vlahovic’s deal expires at the end of this season and Tottenham have reportedly spoken to his representatives about a move, while Frank is believed to have reached out to Toney personally.

The former Brentford star, who scored 20 Premier League goals during his best campaign under Frank, has scored for fun in Saudi Arabia with 41 goals in just 59 total appearances.

However, ever since his switch to the Gulf, Toney has largely been excluded from the Three Lions squad, bar one call-up earlier this year for games against Andorra and Senegal.

The 29-year-old will be eager to challenge for a place in Thomas Tuchel’s plans, but he may have to consider a return to England for this to be possible.

Tottenham told Ivan Toney deal conditions after Frank talks

According to TEAMtalk, Frank has indeed held ‘direct talks’ with Toney about a possible move to Tottenham in the new year.

The Saudi Pro League side, who are still unbeaten this season, lie eight points behind table-toppers Al-Nassr and could be very reluctant to part company with their star striker.

However, they would entertain talks on a few key conditions.

Al-Ahli value Toney at around £30 million for a permanent January deal, but suitors are said to be ‘baulking’ at this asking price, while the player himself faces a hefty tax bill if he departs Saudi for good just under two years after arriving, meaning a loan to buy is the most likely solution.

Making this option an obligation could apparently sweeten the deal and obtain Al-Ahli’s green light, with Tottenham now ‘leading the race’ to sign Toney ahead of the window’s reopening.

Appearances

59

Goals

41

Assists

8

Bookings

7

Red cards

0

Minutes played

4,796

The Lilywhites apparently view him as the ‘ideal’ solution to potentially replace Richarlison, and Frank’s strong relationship with Toney hands Tottenham a secret weapon to beat off competition for his signature.

The Spurs boss has made no secret of his admiration for Toney, though, once branding him the ‘number two’ striker in England.

Roy Keane has claimed that his infamous leg-breaker on Erling Haaland's dad, Alfie, was not an unfair challenge. To get a bigger picture and understand the magnitude of Keane’s fury, you have to rewind to September 1997, when Manchester United faced Leeds United at Elland Road.

How did it all start?

Keane was a player who thrived on combat on the pitch. However, he went down in agony after rupturing his cruciate ligament while attempting a challenge. As he lay on the turf, clutching his knee in genuine pain, Haaland, who was playing for Leeds, stood over him and sneered, accusing him of faking an injury. 

"He tried to tackle me and I got the free kick. He was lying on the ground and I just told him to ‘get up’ as you normally do with players – nothing more than that," Haaland said in an earlier interview. "I wasn’t trying to intend anything against him, but obviously he took that very hard."

AdvertisementGetty Images SportThat fateful day in Old Trafford

For Keane, who never forgot a slight, those words became fuel. Four years later, in April 2001, fate delivered the perfect opportunity for revenge during a Manchester derby at Old Trafford. And Keane didn’t miss. His right boot smashed into Haaland’s knee with sickening force as Keane stood over his old adversary, snarling expletives. He didn’t even pretend it was an accident.

In his 2002 autobiography, he admitted it outright: "I’d waited long enough. I f*cking hit him hard. The ball was there (I think). Take that you c***. And don’t ever stand over me sneering about fake injuries."

At the time, Keane received a £5,000 fine and a three-match ban. But when his autobiography publicly confirmed what everyone suspected, that the assault was premeditated, the FA reopened the case. He was handed an additional five-match suspension and fined a further £150,000. 

In his second autobiography, published in 2014, he doubled down once again, describing Haaland as "an absolute pr*ck to play against."

"[He] p*ssed me off, shooting his mouth off. He was an absolute pr*ck to play against. Niggling, sneaky," he wrote.

"I did want to nail him and let him know what was happening. I wanted to hurt him and stand over him and go: 'Take that, you c***.' I don’t regret that. But I had no wish to injure him. It was action; it was football. It was dog eats dog. I’ve kicked lots of players and I know the difference between hurting somebody and injuring somebody. I didn’t go to injure Haaland. When you play sport, you know how to injure somebody.

"There was no premeditation. I’d played against Haaland three or four times between the game against Leeds, in 1997, when I injured my cruciate and the game when I tackled him, in 2001, when he was playing for Manchester City. If I’d been this madman out for revenge, why would I have waited years for an opportunity to injure him? Was I going around for years thinking: ‘I’m going to get him, I’m going to get him.’? No. Was he at the back of my mind? Of course, he was. Like Rob Lee was, like David Batty was, like Alan Shearer was, like Patrick Vieira was. All these players were in the back of my mind: ‘If I get a chance I’m going to f*cking hit you, of course I am.’"

One final declaration from Keane!

Keane is never one to hide behind PR polish or remorse, and has again claimed that his tackle on Haaland was "not a bad challenge", defiantly insisting that he was merely trying to "hurt him", and not end his career. 

Speaking on , the ex-Manchester United captain declared: "This is my last time talking about this tackle, the Haaland one. I still don’t think it was a bad tackle, I really don’t. I don’t care what anyone says. It’s not as bad as everyone thinks it is. When you play sport at that speed we played at, there’s a difference between hurting somebody and injuring somebody – big difference. That’s my argument. I was trying to hurt him, not injure somebody."

When asked about it in 2024, Haaland said wryly: "Is that a coincidence, or isn’t it? If you’re in the ground and someone hits you in the right leg, you can still twist your other leg. It can get injured and that’s probably what happened.

"I haven’t played a full 90 minutes after that incident, that’s the hard fact. And people can judge whatever they want. Obviously, I found out afterwards that it was with intent and he was seeking revenge and all these things. I think that’s a bit sad. Sad for football and it was not good for me either at the time."

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Getty Images SportDid Keane actually end Haaland's career?

Keane used one argument to justify his lack of guilt as the Norwegian played a full international just four days after the infamous tackle and played 68 minutes for City shortly after. 

"Haaland finished the game and played four days later, for Norway," he said. "A couple of years later, he tried to claim that he’d had to retire because of the tackle. He was going to sue me. It was a bad tackle but he was still able to play four days later."

One must note that although Haaland did undergo the knife in that summer, it was on his left leg, whereas Keane tackled him on the right.

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