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Ivan Toney: Brentford’s New Goal Machine

Ivan Toney: Brentford’s New Goal Machine
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It is no secret that Brentford have a knack for finding talent. The West London club’s scouting system is renowned for being hugely successful, and it appears the Bees have found another gem.

With last season’s top scorer Ollie Watkins leaving for Aston Villa, Brentford were in need of a striker to replace Watkin’s goals.

Thomas Frank signed Ivan Toney from Peterborough United for an undisclosed fee during the summer transfer window, and he is already proving to be an excellent acquisition.

The 24-year-old failed to score against Birmingham and Huddersfield in the first two games of the season, but after opening his account against Millwall, the floodgates well and truly opened.

Three straight braces against Preston, Coventry and Sheffield Wednesday have seen Toney take his tally to seven goals in six Championship games this season.

His double against the Owls even saw him overtake Mohamed Salah as the highest scorer in England’s top four divisions in 2020, with 17 league goals this calendar year.

Following numerous loan spells as a Newcastle youngster, Toney spent two seasons with Peterborough, scoring 49 goals in 94 games in all competitions.

He netted a whopping 24 goals in 32 league games last season before the League One campaign was cut short due to the pandemic, finishing nine goals ahead of his nearest challenger.

Toney possesses all the right attributes to become a top-level striker. He is quick, strong, good in the air and a lethal finisher.

If Brentford’s recent track record of developing forwards is anything to go by, Toney is likely to be playing at the highest level in the not too distant future.

In 2014, Andre Grey was signed from Luton Town for £500k before being sold to Burnley a year later for £12m.

Neal Maupay joined from French side Saint-Etienne for £1.8m in 2017, with Brighton paying £20m for the Frenchman in 2019.

This summer, Brentford sold Ollie Watkins to Aston Villa for £33m, having paid Exeter City just £1.8m for the striker back in 2017.

If Toney continues to score goals at an alarming rate, he will surely earn himself a move to the Premier League in the coming years.

Championship Regular Season
OVERALL TABLE PTS GP W D L +/-
1
Ipswich Town 89 43 26 11 6 32
2
Leicester City 88 42 28 4 10 41
3
Leeds United 87 43 26 9 8 42
4
Southampton 84 42 25 9 8 30
5
West Bromwich 72 43 20 12 11 24
6
Norwich City 71 43 21 8 14 16
7
Hull City 65 42 18 11 13 8
8
Coventry City 63 42 17 12 13 14
9
Middlesbrough 63 43 18 9 16 5
10
Preston North End 63 43 18 9 16 -4
11
Cardiff City 59 43 18 5 20 -12
12
Bristol City 58 43 16 10 17 4
13
Sunderland 56 43 16 8 19 2
14
Swansea City 53 43 14 11 18 -9
15
Watford 52 43 12 16 15 1
16
Millwall 50 43 13 11 19 -13
17
Blackburn Rovers 49 43 13 10 20 -14
18
Plymouth Argyle 48 43 12 12 19 -8
19
QPR 47 43 12 11 20 -17
20
Stoke City 47 43 12 11 20 -19
21
Birmingham City 45 43 12 9 22 -16
22
Huddersfield 44 43 9 17 17 -23
23
Sheffield Wednesday 44 43 12 8 23 -31
24
Rotherham 23 43 4 11 28 -53

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