AFTER RISING UP THROUGH THE LEAGUES, IS THERE ANY LIMIT TO HIS PROGRESS?
IVAN TONEY BRENTFORD
Every time the bar has been raised in recent years, Toney has risen to it. The striker was League One’s top marksman three years ago, came out on top in the Championship two years back, then proved himself capable in the top tier with 12 Premier League strikes last term. Not content with that, Brentford’s talisman hit another dozen goals this season before the New Year, helped by a hat-trick against Leeds and a brace in a 2-1 win at Manchester City in November. Pep Guardiola, who knows a thing or two about top strikers, admitted his team had “suffered” at the hands of an “exceptional player” that day.
Toney’s scoring form continued into 2023, with only Harry Kane and Erling Haaland ahead of him in the Golden Boot race. And he did it all with a cloud hanging over him: in November, the striker was charged by the FA with 232 alleged breaches of betting rules, before 30 more were added a month later. In February, the 27-year-old admitted to many – but not all – of them, throwing himself at the mercy of disciplinarians. But while the case ticked along, so did Toney, as he repeatedly bullied defenders and hit the net to drive Brentford into the top half.
Toney did finally miss a penalty for the first time since 2018, against former club Newcastle, for whom he had made his Premier League debut in 2015 before he was really ready. Prior to that miss in April, he had coolly converted 24 penalties in a row – and he promptly straightened himself up to score from the spot barely 15 minutes later. That’s just Toney all over, oozing composure in the biggest moments.
Winning his maiden England cap, at home to Ukraine in March’s Euro 2024 qualifiers, made Toney the first Brentford player since Les Smith – in 1939 – to represent the Three Lions.
PEP GUARDIOLA SAID HIS SIDE HAD “SUFFERED” AT THE HANDS OF An “EXCEPTIONAL PLAYER”