Toney: I hold no grudges over Toon exit
IVAN Toney has insisted he holds no ill-feeling towards Newcastle United after he was sold by Rafa Benitez.
The Brentford striker has enjoyed a meteoric rise in the English Football League after moving from Peterborough to the Bees in the summer for an initial £5million fee.
Toney is now on target to become the highest-scoring Championship striker in a single season, having already scored 28 goals and registering nine assists this season, leaving some Newcastle supporters ruing the club’s decision to allow him to leave in 2018 for a relative pittance.
With the 25-year-old now hoping to return to the Premier League with the Bees and top-flight clubs reportedly looking to sign him should Brentford stumble, Toney has explained his decision to leave Newcastle.
He said: “Rafa came in, he had a decision to make and he made it, which was clear and fair enough. He did not see me in his plans.
“If somebody does not want you it is not the end of the world. It is their choice.
“You might not fit in with their style of play or it might be something little - you don’t know.
“However, just because one manager does not want you it does not mean another one won’t.
“You want to prove to yourself that you can do it and I think that is what I have done.”
On speculation abut his future, Toney added: “It was flattering but I am a Brentford player.
“You read things but I don’t look too deeply into it.”
Meanwhile, Brentford have described the latest racist abuse directed at former Magpies starlet Toney as “spineless.”
In January the Championship club reported a social media user after he sent racist language to the 25-year-old.
Instagram eventually banned the user from its platform but Toney has now been the victim of more racist abuse.
After he started the Bees’ stalemate with Birmingham on Tuesday, Toney was sent a direct message which included numerous monkey and banana emojis and described Brentford as a “gay idiot team.”