England interim head coach Lee Carsley has insisted that the door is not closed on Ivan Toney's international career, despite his controversial move to Saudi Arabia.
The 28-year-old made each of Gareth Southgate's last three England squads while representing Brentford and came up with a couple of crucial contributions during his nation's run to the Euro 2024 final.
After providing the assist for Harry Kane's winner in England's come-from-behind victory over Slovakia in the last 16, Toney nonchalantly put his penalty away in the quarter-final win over Switzerland, but he did not make Carsley's first squad.
The former Newcastle United man - who only played half of the 2023-24 season due to a betting ban - joined Al-Ahli in a £40m move on transfer deadline day, leading to questions about his future with the national team.
Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman recently said that he would not consider selecting Steven Bergwijn following his move to Al-Ittihad, triggering a furious response from the ex-Tottenham Hotspur man, but Carsley will not be following a similar approach with Toney.
Carsley: 'Ruling Toney out of England squads would be reckless'
Asked in Friday's press conference whether Toney is in his thoughts for future squads, Carsley replied: "I was thinking about that to be honest. I think ultimately as an interim head coach I don't think I can rule anyone in or out.
"It would be really interesting to go out and see Ivan play and see the level and see the tempo and see the standard. We've got access to the games so I'll definitely be following his progression out there.
"It would be good to go and see an actual live game to get a feel of the atmosphere and the pace of the game because sometimes you don't quite get that on a video. So, yeah, he's definitely not ruled out.
"We have to be mindful.... I've got a perception of the football out there but I've not been out there and seen it. So I think it would be reckless to rule somebody in or out so he's definitely not ruled out and yeah I would like to go and sample and see what the football's like out there."
Toney was expected to be at the heart of a Premier League transfer tussle this summer, with all of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United tipped to battle for the striker, who was in the last year of his Brentford contract.
Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United were also credited with an interest in Toney, but Brentford ultimately struggled to drum up top-flight interest in the England international, whom they were initially holding out for £100m for in January before being forced to lower their demands.
A last-gasp move to Chelsea was thought to have been back on when it emerged that Al-Ahli had agreed a fee with Napoli for Victor Osimhen on deadline day, but the Saudi giants remarkably struck a deal for Toney an hour later, having never received the green light for Osimhen.
Toney absence leaves England short up front
It was not a huge surprise to see Toney omitted from Carsley's first England squad, as the Al-Ahli striker has just experienced one of the craziest weeks of his career and needs time to acclimatise to his new surroundings in the Middle East.
However, with Toney absent and Ollie Watkins withdrawing through injury, Carsley is going without a recognised backup for Harry Kane for September's matches against the Republic of Ireland and Finland, although Jarrod Bowen can play as a makeshift striker if needed.
The interim England boss was also asked whether in-form Marseille striker Mason Greenwood will be considered for future England squads, and he issued an emphatic response when quizzed on the former Manchester United man. body check tags ::
