Ollie Watkins next? The 8 English players to have played in the Saudi Pro League

Ollie Watkins could become just the ninth English player to play in the Saudi Pro League if Al Hilal sign him from Aston Villa.

Watkins is tempted by the move and Villa are close to selling the striker to Al Hilal. It’s one of the big transfer sagas to watch before the deadline.

There have been plenty of moves from the Premier League to the Saudi Pro League over the past few years, but not that many involving Englishmen.

In fact, only eight English players have ever played in Saudi Arabia – and of those, only three have been capped at senior level by their country.

Watkins would arguably the most high-profile in terms of his current level at the time of the potential move.

Here are the players whose footsteps he would be following in, starting with four currently in Saudi Arabia and then four who’ve been and gone.

Ivan Toney

After 36 Premier League goals for Brentford on the back of 31 in the Championship, Toney escaped English football in 2024 after four years with the Bees.

One of the strikers England briefly looked set to pin their hopes on for a Harry Kane successor, even though he’s only three years younger, Toney completed his Saudi move a month after being part of the Euro 2024 squad.

Al-Ahli paid £40m to sign him to a four-year contract.

In his first two seasons, Toney helped Al-Ahli win back-to-back Asian Champions Leagues. His 42-goal haul in his second season – 32 of which were in the Saudi Pro League – earned him a place in England’s 2026 World Cup squad, even though he barely featured at the tournament.

John Buckley

Buckley made 169 appearances for Blackburn Rovers after coming through their academy, also having a spell on loan with Sheffield Wednesday.

After eight seasons in the Championship, he headed to Saudi Arabia in August 2025 to join Al-Kholood – a couple of weeks after they’d appointed an English manager, Des Buckingham.

Buckley scored on his Saudi Pro League debut and also on his third appearance, but they were his only league goals among 31 appearances in his first season.

Josh Brownhill

Brownhill had the season of his life in 2024-25, scoring 18 goals to get Burnley promoted from the Championship.

But it marked the end of his contract with the Clarets. Despite their attempts to keep him, he didn’t stick around for what would have been his fifth season in the Premier League.

Instead, Brownhill made a move to Al Shabab. He went on to score five goals from 30 games in his debut Saudi Pro League season.

Adam Berry

Berry was a big prospect in the Manchester United academy, going viral for scoring a goal from the halfway line when he was at under-15s level.

He moved to Nottingham Forest in 2024 with the hope of making a breakthrough, but never reached first-team level.

The winger left Forest two years later to set out on his senior career with Al-Kholood. He made five appearances off the bench in his first half-season in the Saudi Pro League.

Jordan Henderson

There was an air of controversy about Henderson’s move to Saudi Arabia in 2023.

While it enabled one former Liverpool captain to play for another as he joined Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq, Henderson drew criticism for his choice of destination.

Having previously been a big supporter of LGBT initiatives in the Premier League, Henderson’s move to a country not renowned for its inclusivity was upsetting to many.

He only lasted six months out there too, playing in 17 Saudi Pro League games before terminating his contract to come back to Europe with Ajax.

Mo Adams

Adams grew up in England and spent time in the Nottingham Forest and Derby County academies.

After four years in America, playing for Chicago Fire, Atlanta United and a pre-Messi Inter Miami, the midfielder moved to Saudi Arabia in 2022.

He never played for Al Shabab, but did for Al-Khaleej in the 2023-24 season before dropping into the Saudi second tier with Al-Batin the season after.

Chris Smalling

There was a time when Smalling was one of the most in-form English players abroad after leaving Manchester United for Roma in 2019.

But injuries caught up with him by the end of his five-year spell in Italy and Roma let him leave in September 2024.

Al-Fayha signed him and he regained his fitness in Saudi Arabia, only missing two league games for his new side after his move.

The defender played in all 34 of their games in his second season, but was released at the end of his contract.

Brad Young

An Aston Villa academy product, Young made his breakthrough in Wales with The New Saints in 2023-24.

His 22-goal season caught the eyes of Al-Orobah, but he only scored twice in his season in Saudi Arabia.

Young then moved elsewhere in the Middle East for a stint in the UAE Pro League before returning to Welsh football.

Honourable mentions

Andre Gray and Demarai Gray are both (unrelated) Jamaica internationals, but were born in England.

The former, an ex-Burnley and Watford striker, joined Al-Riyadh for a season in September 2023.

On the same day, coincidentally, winger Demarai left Everton for Al-Ettifaq, where he stayed for two years.