Jon Toral

Toral was born in Reus, in the Province of Tarragona, Catalonia.[3] He began playing football as a child with his local club, UE Barri Santes Creus,[4] and signed for Barcelona in 2003, after being discovered by youth football coordinator Albert Puig.[5][6] At Barcelona, Toral quickly forged a midfield partnership with Sergi Samper. The pair would play together for eight years and were referred to as the "Samper & Toral Limited Company" in the Spanish media.[7] Toral was a part of the under-15 team which won the 2009–10 Manchester United Premier Cup.[5] He departed Barça in the summer of 2011.[3]

Jon Toral (right) with Arsenal against Sunderland

Toral caught the attention of Premier League club Arsenal while playing in England at the Manchester United Premier Cup in 2010.[5] Along with Barcelona youth teammate Héctor Bellerín, he signed for the Gunners in the summer of 2011[3] for a fee reported as around £300,000; Barcelona president Sandro Rosell described the deal as "a little immoral".[8] Toral began his career at Arsenal out injured with a damaged meniscus of his right knee, suffered in his final appearance for Barcelona in May 2011.[5] After recovering, Toral made his debut for the reserves in a 2–0 Premier Reserve League defeat to Aston Villa on 30 November 2011, but was injured again in January 2012.[9] Toral appeared for Arsenal in the 2012–13 NextGen Series and the 2013–14 UEFA Youth League, scoring two goals in five appearances in the latter competition.[10] He broke into the reserve team during the 2013–14 season, scoring six goals in twenty appearances.[11] Toral was called into the first team squad for pre-season friendly matches against Boreham Wood and New York Red Bulls in July 2014, making a start and a substitute appearance respectively.[12][13] Toral spent the entire 2014–15 season away on loan and impressed sufficiently to be awarded a one-year contract extension.[14] Toral was involved in Arsenal's pre-season tour of Singapore ahead of the 2015–16 season. He came on as a substitute against Singapore Selection XI on 15 July 2015 and won the penalty from which Chuba Akpom made it 3–0.[15]

Toral joined newly promoted Championship club Brentford on a season-long loan on 15 August 2014.[11][16] After the signing, manager Mark Warburton said Toral was "an excellent addition to our group. This is a sign of the relationship we have with Arsenal and our continuing desire to add quality to our playing squad".[11] Assigned the number 17 shirt, Toral made the first professional appearance of his career with a start in a 1–0 League Cup second-round defeat to West London rivals Fulham on 26 August; he lasted 63 minutes before being substituted by Toumani Diagouraga.[17] He made his league debut in the following match against Rotherham United,[18] coming on for goalscorer Andre Gray and assisting Nick Proschwitz for the Bees' second goal in a 2–0 win.[19] After four further substitute appearances, Warburton commented that Toral had been outstanding in training and was pushing for a first team start.[20] He scored the first senior goal of his career with what proved to be a consolation in a 3–1 defeat to Bolton Wanderers on 25 October, just two minutes after coming on as a late substitute for Alex Pritchard.[21] He scored his second goal with the opener in a 3–1 win at Nottingham Forest on Bonfire Night, shooting in the box through a crowd of players.[22] Toral said in February 2015 that Griffin Park was "a great place to be now and I'm enjoying every minute of it – every game, every training session I'm learning".[23] He scored the first senior hat-trick of his career to send the Bees on the way to a 4–0 victory over Blackpool on 24 February, and took his tally to four goals in three matches in a 4–1 defeat of Huddersfield Town a week later.[24] He finished the season with 37 appearances and 6 goals, after the Bees' defeat to Middlesbrough in the playoff semi-finals.[24]

Toral with Birmingham City in 2016

Toral joined another Championship club, Birmingham City, on 30 July 2015 on loan for the season[25] He went straight into the starting eleven for the opening match of the season, a 2–1 win at home to Reading, and scored Birmingham's second goal with a header from Donaldson's cross.[26] The following week, he opened the scoring after 10 minutes of the visit to Burnley with a left-footed shot from outside the penalty area after Donaldson flicked on a clearance from the goalkeeper; the match ended 2–2.[27] In September, he created one goal for Donaldson with an "astute through ball catching [Bristol City's defence napping",[28] and another via a penalty awarded for a foul on Toral for which the Bristol City manager thought he should have been booked for diving.[29] Regular starts were taking their toll: Toral was rested for the win at Brentford at the end of the month[30] and made four substitute appearances in the next six matches.[31]

He returned to the starting eleven and to goalscoring in the 5–2 away win at Fulham on 7 November, when manager Gary Rowett described him as "the best player on the pitch, in terms of his composure and his vision."[32] From then on, he kept his place in the starting eleven, despite competition from January purchase Diego Fabbrini for the playmaker role,[33] until his season ended prematurely. He was sent off in stoppage time of the home defeat against Burnley on 16 April for a second yellow card,[34] and then injured a hamstring in training that kept him out for the last four matches of the season. He finished as the team's second highest scorer with eight goals. The sixth, at home to Ipswich Town in January, for which "Tomasz Kuszczak launched a free kick down the middle, Clayton Donaldson headed on and before the ball hit the ground Toral fired a dipping volley over the goalkeeper from 25 yards",[35] earned him the club's Goal of the Season award, to add to his Players' Player of the Season and Supporters' Player of the Season awards.[36]

On 12 July 2016, Toral was loaned to La Liga club Granada.[37] He made his debut for the club on 20 August, starting in a 1–1 home draw against Villarreal.[38] He scored his first goal in Spain on 30 November to win a Copa del Rey match at home to Osasuna, with a shot hit with the outside of his left foot described by Marca's reporter as the finest seen for Granada in months.[39] He made only six appearances for Granada,[2] and was recalled by Arsenal on 10 January 2017 amid expectations of a loan to Rangers of the Scottish Premiership.[40]

On 12 January 2017, Toral joined Rangers on loan until the end of the season. He was reunited with Mark Warburton, who had managed him at Brentford.[41] Toral made his Rangers debut in a 2016–17 Scottish Cup win over Motherwell at Ibrox Stadium on 21 January,[42] and scored his first goal for the club in a Scottish Cup win over Hamilton Academical on 4 March.[43] Toral ended his loan spell with 15 appearances and 3 goals in all competitions.[44]

After six years as an Arsenal player without making a single first-team appearance for the club, Toral signed a three-year deal with Hull City of the Championship on 24 August 2017.[45] The fee was undisclosed, but reported as £3 million.[46]

Toral made his debut against Bolton Wanderers on 25 August 2017, when he came off the bench in a 4–0 home win.[47]

Toral scored his first goal for Hull, minutes after having a penalty kick saved by Costel Pantilimon, on 10 February 2018 in a 0–2 away win at Nottingham Forest.[48]

Following the relegation of the club at the end of the 2019–20 season to the EFL League One, Toral was released by the club.[49]

On 25 August 2020, Toral returned to Birmingham City, where he signed a one-year contract with an option for a second year.[50] He made his second debut as a second-half substitute in the opening fixture of the season, a 1–0 defeat at home to fourth-tier Cambridge United in the EFL Cup.[51]