Pipped at post last time, on-fire Ivan Toney taking dead aim at RSL Golden Boot

It’s been an off-season of change at Al Ahli, with key pillars of their back-to-back Asian titles departing in the form of Franck Kessie and Riyad Mahrez.

Then, on the eve of the 2026-27 Roshn Saudi League, manager Matthias Jaissle accepted an opportunity to coach Premier League side Newcastle United. To round it off, sporting director Rui Pedro also recently left.

But, as they say, the more some things change, the more others stay the same.

While Al Ahli may have begun the new RSL campaign slower than expected, with three defeats in their past five games blunting some of that pre-season optimism, the same cannot be said of Ivan Toney. He has sprinted out of the blocks like Usain Bolt.

After narrowly missing out on last season’s golden boot when Al Qadsiah’s Julian Quinones scored a final-day hat-trick to overtake him by a solitary goal, Toney is playing like a man determined to, not only keep Al Ahli in the title race, but also claim the individual gong he’s been vocal about wanting to achieve.

The England international, part of the Three Lions’ squad for the recent 2026 FIFA World Cup, has picked up where he left off last season, evidenced by him this week colleacting RSL Player of the Month for September. 

In only seven rounds played thus far, Toney has notched an incredible 10 goals. That’s double the next best in the early 2026-27 RSL scoring charts: NEOM Sports Club’s Alexandre Lacazette, with five.

Toney’s titanic form in front of goal lifts his overall RSL scoring record to 65 goals in 69 games, a staggering return in anyone’s language.

Across all competitions for Al Ahli, he has netted 82 times in 102 appearances, propelling him to second in the venerated club’s all-time charts. The only man above him? Just Omar Al Somah, the RSL’s record goalscorer and three-time winner of the competition’s golden boot.

Patently, Toney’s influence and impact in a few short seasons in Saudi Arabian football has been profound - and he still has 27 games to go this season. Hitting his 100th goal in green and white is not only a possibility but, on his current trajectory, entirely likely.

When looking at how Al Ahli play, and the numbers behind it, there should be no reason for Toney’s scoring streak to dry either.

Unsurprisingly for a player who has plundered double the next best in the league this campaign, Toney has taken more shots than anyone else, with 30. Eighteen have been on target - also a divisional best.

And, it must be said, Toney can do so because of the supply coming from behind him in midfield.

While the summer upheaval makes this a real transitional period for Al Ahli, one of their recent arrivals, Eduard Spertsyan, has been a standout performer across the league during its opening five weeks.

The Armenian international has settled comfortably into his new surroundings, creating more chances (23) than any other player in the 2026-27 RSL. Meanwhile, another new recruit not to mention Mahrez’s successor, Francisco Trincao, has supplied another 12 of his own.

With that kind of quality providing passes into the final third, it’s little wonder Toney has had as many opportunities. And, with his conversion rate of 33 percent once again topping the league at present, if you supply the ammunition, sharp-shooter Toney is going to score a bag-full of goals.

The key for Al Ahli to turn around their form, then, is to stop leaking at the other end: Marino Pusic’s men are the only one of the top six in the standings to have conceded double figures (10) so far this season.

Plainly, if Al Ahli can tighten that part of their game, they have the attack capable of shooting for the stars. That's led, of course, by Toney.

However, his value cannot only be measured simply by the number of times he puts the ball in the net. For a team that has lost dressing-room voices in Kessie and Mahrez, his leadership off the pitch is just as profitable.

“His value is not just in his goals,” Faisal Zaid, director of the Al Ahli media center, emphasised to Arab News earlier this month.

“He has a powerful presence in the dressing room, and he commands the love and respect of his teammates - foreign and Saudi alike.”

It's clear to see: in a season of significant change at Al Ahli, Toney has remained a dependable, and deadly, constant.