One man who has been repeatedly linked with a return to Newcastle United since his exit back in 2018 is Brentford talisman, Ivan Toney, with the 26-year-old having blossomed into a fearsome and consistent attacking threat in his post-St James’ Park career.
Having been snapped up by the Magpies from Northampton Town at the age of 19 in the summer of 2015, the Englishman went on to make just four first-team appearances for the club over the next few years, with much of his time having been spent out on loan lower down the footballing pyramid.
The striker’s eventual permanent move to Peterborough United proved particularly fruitful as he bagged 49 goals in just 94 games across all fronts, having since netted 61 goals in only 110 games for the Bees – notably scoring 33 times to fire Thomas Frank’s side to promotion during the 2020/21 campaign.
Such prolific form has ensured that the “dangerous” marksman – as lauded by Chelsea boss Graham Potter – is beginning to attract interest from the Premier League’s elite clubs, with reports during the summer having linked the Tynesiders with a possible £30m approach for their former asset.
That was followed by further links at the tail-end of last year, despite Newcastle’s capture of fellow forward Alexander Isak, with it seemingly abundantly clear that he is a player on Eddie Howe’s radar.
Any hopes of re-signing the 6 foot 2 dynamo have now been boosted following claims made by transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, with the respected journalist revealing in his CaughtOffside daily briefing that a possible exit from west London could be on the horizon:
“There will be a chance to leave for Ivan Toney in the summer but only if the right proposal will arrive, Brentford will not sell for a ‘normal” price.”
The addition of such a ruthless presence could well prove bad news for current leading man, Callum Wilson, with the injury-prone striker having not been able to match Toney’s rampant top-flight form of late.
While the latter man boasts a haul of 25 league goals since the start of the 2021/22 campaign, including 13 goals in just 19 games so far this season, the aforementioned Wilson has just 15 top-flight goals to his name in that time.
Although the former Bournemouth man did net an early strike in the draw with West Ham United at the weekend, that was the 30-year-old’s first league goal since returning from World Cup duty, with persistent absences having become a theme of his spell on Tyneside.
Despite being a “hugely important” part of Howe’s side – according to his manager – there are lingering doubts over whether he – nor Isak – can truly be relied upon to deliver the goods, with pundit Stan Collymore stating earlier this week:
‘They both have their own attributes to offer, but I’m just not sure either player is the type to wear the iconic number nine shirt and bag 20-plus goals a season.’
Turning to Toney – who is the third-highest scorer in the division this term – could potentially prove something of an upgrade, with the one-time Shrewsbury Town loanee also providing the benefit of his creativity when leading the line after producing eight big chances already this season, compared to just two for Wilson.
Equally, while the latter man ranks in just the bottom 23% for aerial duels won and the bottom 15% for interceptions made among his European peers, it would appear that Toney is far more of a physical focal point in attack, as he ranks in the top 15% and that top 8% for those same two metrics, respectively.
Although Wilson has been a reliable servant in recent years who can be truly lethal when fit and firing, the possible signing of his compatriot could well see him fall swiftly down the striking pecking order.