Ivan Toney could be set to leave Brentford this summer, following an outstanding campaign in the Championship for the Bees, which has seen the 25-year-old manage to score 30 goals and make 10 assists in 44 matches, guiding Thomas Frank’s side to a place in the playoffs.
Everton are the bookie’s favourites to sign Toney, as they are looking to build a strong side that will regularly compete for European football.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men are the 11th top scorers in the Premier League at present, which is a statistic that they will need to drastically improve on if they are to push up the league table. The likes of Toney could help this, as the Toffees often play a 4-1-2-1-2 narrow diamond or even a traditional 4-4-2 formation, which could see the 25-year-old possibly pair up with the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin up-front.
With rumours that Norwegian forward Josh King could be set to leave to join Celtic at the end of his loan spell, with Eddie Howe rumoured to be the Scottish side’s next manager, it would make sense for Everton to make a move for Toney, as he would be an upgrade in both depth and quality.
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Leicester City are also looking at Toney, as the likes of Jamie Vardy looks like he might be starting to feel his age, despite the 34-year-old scoring 13 goals in 30 appearances this campaign.
Brendan Rodgers’ Foxes have often used a 5-4-1 formation and even a 5-3-2 with both Vardy and in-form striker Kelechi Iheanacho linking up together. Signing Toney would give Rodgers a different option to those which he already has, as Toney has shown that he is good in build-up play, via his 10 assists in the Championship, whilst showing he is a clinical finisher.
With Leicester looking to constantly improve their squad as they push for European football year in year out, a move for Toney would be a good and realistic move for them to make, hence why they are priced at 5/1 to sign the Brentford striker this summer.
The next club on this list of sides that are interested in Toney is Brighton & Hove Albion, who have impressed many this year under the management of Graham Potter.
The Seagulls have had issues in chance conversion this campaign, as their expected goals tally is 16 worse off than what it should be, leaving them 21 points worse off in expected points too. This signifies that there is a lot of potential yet to be unlocked in Potter’s side and with further improvements to their squad, they could potentially push into the top half of the table for the first time in the Premier League.
Brighton are priced at 6/1 to sign Toney in the upcoming transfer window.
West Ham United are also rumoured to be interested in Toney. David Moyes’ side have had an impressive campaign that has seen them challenge for a place in next season’s Champions League and will be looking to make further improvements to his squad so that they can sustain challenges for European football on a regular basis.
The Irons only have one striker at present, following the sale of Sebastien Haller to Ajax in January, meaning that they have been forced to rely upon Michail Antonio who has spent time on the sidelines through injury.
Toney may offer West Ham better quality up front, as he has proven that he can link up play at Brentford, which is essential in the 5-4-1 system that the Hammers play and his goalscoring record is significantly better than Antonio’s career-best at West Ham of 10 in the league in the 2019/20 season, although it is granted that Toney is plying his trade in the league below.
West Ham have the odds of 6/1 to sign Toney from Brentford this summer.
The final team on this list of clubs that have been linked with Toney is the 25-year-olds former club in Newcastle United, who he left to join Peterborough United in the summer of 2018, having only made four appearances for the Magpies in three years.
Steve Bruce’s side are in desperate need of more goals in their team, Callum Wilson is their leading scorer with 10 to his name, whilst Joelinton and Miguel Almiron are their second top scorers with five goals each.
Newcastle are in need of more quality in front of goal in general as a team, as backup strikers Dwight Gayle and Andy Carroll have just one goal between them, with the latter’s contract set to expire in the summer after what has been an underwhelming return to Tyneside.
Toney may feel that he has unfinished business at St James’ Park, and the strike pairing of Toney and Wilson could be a catalyst to the Magpies moving up the table.