Manchester United have Brentford striker Ivan Toney on their transfer radar ahead of the summer window, which will be the first opportunity that the club’s new sporting structure has had to start putting its own stamp on the squad.
United have lacked depth up front this season, often with Rasmus Hojlund the only ‘number nine’ available to manager Erik ten Hag. The Dane has done an admirable job in the circumstances, initially arriving injured and with the pressure of a £72m price tag on his shoulders.
Anthony Martial has endured another injury-plagued campaign and looks set to leave Old Trafford after nine years at the club when his contract expires in June.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s ultimate goal is restore United to competing for every major trophy each season. But United have been outscored by Brentford, Bournemouth and Fulham in the Premier League this season and bringing the glory days back won’t happen without substantially more firepower.
The question is whether or not Toney is the answer?
Toney hasn’t exactly hidden his desire to take his career to the next level.
“You can never predict when is the right time to move elsewhere, but I think it’s obvious I want to play for a top club. Everybody wants to play for a top club, that is fighting for titles,” he said in January, a time when both Arsenal and Chelsea were most heavily linked.
The 28-year-old has had to work extremely hard to put himself into a position where clubs like United are interested. He wasn’t the product of a shiny Premier League academy, coming through the ranks at local lower league side Northampton Town. He made his debut there aged 16 in 2012 and was picked up by Newcastle United less than three years later after impressing in League Two.
Ultimately, Toney’s Newcastle career was spent on loan at a string of League One sides without ever fully catching fire. That all changed when he was able to permanently join Peterborough United in the third tier in 2018, scoring 49 times in two seasons across all competitions.
Brentford saw fit to sign him in 2020 and were rewarded with 31 league goals straight off the bat that propelled them into the Premier League. Making his first top flight start aged 25, Toney hasn’t looked back. He has put in the hard yards, making every bit of success he tastes now that bit sweeter. Now, at 28, there isn’t the time to get a second bite of the cherry if the big move he’s waited for all these…
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