"the striker is defiant, even if he found himself on the outside as England played their latest World Cup qualifiers. Those that know me, know that I do what I want to do, Toney says. If there is something that I want to go for, to try, then I will do it. If people want to talk, they can talk. It doesn't hurt me, doesn't bother me, I just concentrate on myself. I do what makes me happy."
"The weather played a massive part, he says. Somebody should go and try to play in a sauna and see if they can cope. You have to play a different game with different tactics and it is something you adapt to. There are different blocks of 20 minutes where it is intense and then naturally it has to slow down and pick up again."
Ivan Toney moved from the Premier League to the Saudi Pro League and has registered 35 goals for Al-Ahli along with an Asian Champions League winner's medal. Toney scored 23 league goals in 30 games last season, finishing as the league's second-top scorer. Life in Jeddah included adapting to temperatures above 40C, different tactical rhythms and blocks of 20 minutes of intensity. Starting alongside Roberto Firmino and Riyad Mahrez aided the transition. Toney remains outside England's recent World Cup qualifying squads but expresses defiance and focus on personal happiness and performance. He aims to finish top of the scoring charts this season.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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