Obvious reason Ivan Toney didn't join Arsenal, Chelsea or Tottenham as £40m transfer confirmed

Ivan Toney made the life-changing move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli on Friday. The 28-year-old, who had been linked with moves to Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea, left Brentford in a deal worth around £40million as he prepares to play his club football away from England for the first time in his career.

Toney watched Brentford beat Southampton 3-1 on Saturday before travelling out to the Middle East and putting the finishing touches on his move to Al-Ahli. The England international is set to play alongside the likes of Riyad Mahrez, Roberto Firmino and Gabri Veiga at the Jeddah-based outfit.

It's a transformative move for Toney at this stage of his career, with the ex-Newcastle forward set to earn £400,000 per-week tax-free. Add-ons and bonuses related to performance would take his salary towards £500,000, putting him up there among the highest-paid English players in the sport.

This is an eye-watering upgrade on the reported £36,000 per-week he was pocketing at Brentford. His new wages feel even bigger considering he started his senior career at Northampton. Toney had one year left on his contract at Brentford before making the money-spinning switch to Saudi Arabia.

Throughout the summer transfer window, it felt inevitable that Toney was going to leave Brentford. However, his next destination was still uncertain. Tottenham, Arsenal and Chelsea had emerged as clear contenders alongside Manchester United, as he eyed a move to another Premier League club.

But after United signed Joshua Zirkzee for £36.5m and Tottenham completed the arrival of Dominic Solanke for £65m, it left Arsenal and Chelsea as his only realistic Premier League options. Although those two seemed viable options for Toney, he opted for a new adventure with Al-Ahli.

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As some players - including ex-Arsenal midfielder Tim Akinola - have admitted on moving to the Middle East from a financial perspective, this is no doubt an incentive that has Toney has seized upon to join the Saudi revolution. It's understood Toney is now the second best-paid Englishman behind Harry Kane.

Speaking after Toney left Brentford, Thomas Frank said: "It's been a pleasure to work with Ivan over the last four years. He has averaged more than one goal every two games, which is an unbelievable number.

"On the pitch, he has been a fantastic goalscorer, link-up player and leader. He has pushed the team, the squad and himself." Frank added: "Ivan leaves as a Brentford legend."

During his time at Brentford, Toney scored 72 goals in 141 matches. He netted a stunning 21 times in 35 appearances in the 2022/23 campaign before finding the net on just four occasions after coming back from his eight-month betting ban in the second half of last season.