Brentford striker Ivan Toney could be next season’s Ollie Watkins in the Premier League – originally posted on Sportslens.com
For the first time in 74 years, Brentford has earned promotion to the Premier League. The Bees enjoyed a fantastic campaign, ultimately beating Swansea in the Championship playoff final. One of the main reasons that Brentford is on their way up to the top flight though is striker Ivan Toney.
The 25-year-old hitman bagged 33 goals after securing a summer move from League One side Peterborough last summer and instantly thrived in Thomas Frank’s side.
While there have been boatloads of interest in Toney from other Premier League teams such as West Ham and Tottenham, the Bees have made it clear the Englishman will not be up for sale in the upcoming transfer window.
This term actually saw a former Brentford player in Ollie Watkins flourish in his debut season in the Premier League, bagging 14 goals for Villa after leaving the Bees last September.
Watkins hit the ground running, much in part to the tremendous service from Jack Grealish. He ultimately earned a call-up to England thanks to his impressive form for Dean Smith, but he just fell short of the 26-man squad for this summer’s Euros.
For Toney, he is on a similar path. Watkins won Championship Player of the Year in 2019/20 after winning the Golden Boot. Toney has collected both awards this season for Brentford.
Toney has spent time in the top flight briefly with Newcastle, but it was short-lived. Next term will be his first real shot in the Premier League and there’s not a doubt that he’s looking at what Watkins did and thinking he can produce at a similar level.
Ivan Toney:
Signed for £5m
Scored 33 goals
Assisted 10 goals
Lead Brentford to the PL
Unbelievable business.
pic.twitter.com/9u1eELojcW
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) May 29, 2021
The former Peterborough star has been absolutely lethal across the last few seasons. While there’s definitely a difference between the Championship and the EPL, Toney has the capabilities and attributes to succeed.
He’s a true central striker who scores the majority of his goals within the box. Toney has tremendous instincts in the final third and also has the talent to pick out a pass, tallying 10 assists this season to go along with his mind-boggling number of goals.
Just like Watkins, he also has a brilliant work rate. Toney often comes back into his own half and fights to gain possession and even retreats for corners, often heading balls out of danger in Brentford’s end.
He doesn’t waste time when attacking, either. Toney is precise with his finishing and takes minimal touches before unleashing. The traits are there to score goals in the Premier League. While the defending is a lot stronger, there’s really no reason why Ivan Toney can’t follow in the same footsteps as Ollie Watkins next season.
Villa’s frontman opened up a lot of eyes across England in 2020/21. Toney is absolutely heading in the same direction. If he can replicate similar numbers in the top flight, it could also mean a call-up to the Three Lions at some point, just like Watkins. Although the competition for a spot in the 2022 World Cup squad will be extremely fierce, it’s something that will be on Toney’s mind.
It’s going to be exciting to see how Brentford fares in the top flight but one thing is for sure, their success will be based on their main man’s productivity up top. Needless to say, he seems up for the occasion.