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Despite a relatively quiet transfer window in Saudi Arabia, the arrival of Ivan Toney and Joao Cancelo shows that the ambitions of the cash-rich Saudi Pro League remain as high as ever, according to league chief executive Omar Mugharbel. August ended with Al-Ahli of Jeddah buying Toney from Brentford on Friday, three days after Premier League champion Manchester City sold Cancelo to Riyadh's Al-Hilal. Still, the amount spent by the 18 SPL clubs in this transfer window is expected to only be about a third of what they splashed out last summer when a number of big stars such as Karim Benzema and Neymar joined Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia. But Mugharbel says "this is only the beginning."
