Football

The Career of Ivan Toney so far and where next?

Published

4 weeks ago

5th April 2024

The Career of Ivan Toney so far and where next?

After scoring his 28th goal of the season and helping Brentford to a hard-fought draw against Nottingham Forest, Ivan Toney has become the hottest young prospect in the country this season. We take a look at the journey he has been on so far and if the striker is Premier League-bound in the future.

Rising through the ranks

The journey started for Toney when he became the youngest player to play for his boyhood club Northampton Town at the age of 16 in a 3-3 draw in the FA Cup against Bradford City in 2012.

Between 2012 and 2015 Toney netted 11 goals in 27 appearances for his hometown club which earned him a huge move to North East giants Newcastle United. However, after only making two appearances for the Toon, they decided to ship him out on short-term loans to Barnsley, Shrewsbury and Scunthorpe, however he failed to make an impact.

BREAKING: Newcastle sign forward Ivan Toney from Northampton for undisclosed fee #SSNHQ

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) August 6, 2015

Turning heads

A second stint at Scunthorpe in January 2018 proved to be a pivotal stepping stone in the rise of the young Englishman when he scored an impressive 8 goals in 13 league games to help Scunthorpe finish 5th and in the playoffs in League One. His performances impressed fellow League One club Peterborough United and he signed for them in August 2018 for a reported £650,000 from Newcastle United.

Toney made an instant impression at the Posh and scored his first goal on the 8th of September in a 3-2 win at Southend. He continued his momentum after scoring 2 hat-tricks in the space of 3 weeks in December, coming against Bradford City and Accrington Stanley. The Englishman was the top scorer for Peterborough in the league with 16 goals in 44 games and helped his side on a late playoff push which saw them finish 7th and one point behind Doncaster who occupied the final playoff position.

In the 2019-20 season, Toney had established and cemented his place in the starting eleven, it was the first time in his career he had been able to play consistently week in and week out and the Posh reaped the rewards. In that season Toney scored 24 league goals in 32 games and contributed to helping his teammates with 5 assists. With a goal contribution of nearly one a game, it resulted in Toney receiving the League One player of the year award and winning the League one top scorer award by nine goals.

? Brentford have reportedly agreed a £10m fee for Peterborough forward Ivan Toney.

? The news comes on the day he was named Sky Bet League One Player of the Year for 19/20.

? Here is an idea of what you can expect, Bees fans…

? #PUFC @talkSPORTDrive #BrentfordFC pic.twitter.com/YWoPl4aJyO

— Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) August 27, 2020

A step up in class

After being the outstanding player in league one and having 85 goal contributions in 5 seasons in that league, Toney was truly ready to make the step up to the Championship.

Brentford was the team who wanted him after they had just sold their top scorer Ollie Watkins to premier league club Aston Villa. The Bees confirmed secured Toney in August 2020, signing the centre forward on a five year deal for an initial fee of £5 million.

The 25-year-old has proved yet again that with hard work, persistency, and being a regular starter in a team, he can be the main talisman and provide the goals to bring success to a team. This season so far, Toney has scored 28 goals in the league already and contributed with 9 assists in just 37 games which means his goal contribution in a game is over 1. These stats make him one of the leading players for goal contributions in Europe and his team Brentford have found success from that, they currently sit 4th in the Championship, seven points behind Watford in second with a game in hand.

Ivan Toney needs just 3 more goals to break the record for the most Championship goals in a single season:

• Glenn Murray – 30
• Teemu Pukki – 29
• Ross McCormack – 28
• Jordan Rhodes – 28
• Ivan Toney – 28

He still has 9 games to go! ? pic.twitter.com/gptzQ8gLZ0

— Footy Accumulators (@FootyAccums) March 20, 2021

Where next for Ivan Toney?

With the goals he has scored in the last two seasons, it is clear that there is going to be interest from Premier League clubs. Toney has been linked to clubs such as Arsenal, Leeds, and West Ham in the Summer and with how easy he has made the transition from League One to Championship, there aren’t many people doubting that he will be able to make the step from the second tier to the top tier.

With Ollie Watkins and Said Benrahma making the same step-up from Brentford last year, there is a clear pathway to suggest Brentford can make players who can step up and perform at the highest level. Watkins this week also got his first England call up so who knows where Ivan Toney can take his career in the future.

100 – Ivan Toney has now been directly involved in exactly 100 goals in all competitions across the last three seasons;

18-19 – 31 goal involvements (23G, 8A)
19-20 – 32 goal involvements (26G, 6A)
20-21 – 37 goal involvements (28G, 9A)

Lethal. pic.twitter.com/uzKolis1jF

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 20, 2021

We hope you enjoyed the article ‘ The Career of Ivan Toney so far and where next?’ Do you think Ivan Toney will be playing in the Premier League next season? Let us know!

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