Summary Newcastle United have had a strong start to the season, but suffered a blow with star striker Alexander Isak's injury. Ivan Toney could fill his place. Toney's career took off after leaving Newcastle, becoming Brentford's top goalscorer with 68 goals. He is set to return to action in January. Toney's stats show he outperformed Isak and Wilson last season, scoring more goals despite having fewer opportunities. His potential return may haunt the previous ownership.
Newcastle United have had a strong start to the 2023/24 season, currently sitting sixth in the Premier League table and are still fighting for qualification out of the group stage in the UEFA Champions League despite losing last week to German outfit Borussia Dortmund.
However, the Magpies suffered a crushing blow during the 1-0 loss to Dortmund in Europe a week ago as star striker Alexander Isak was taken off early into proceedings and is expected to miss the next few weeks with a groin injury.
Callum Wilson is now Eddie Howe's only fit striker, with some big games on the horizon, but there is one man set to return to action soon after a lengthy absence that many Newcastle fans may have loved to see take Isak's place in the team.
Ivan Toney set to return
Ivan Toney's career kickstarted in League Two with Northampton Town eleven years ago this month. The 6 foot 1 striker bagged 11 goals in 60 appearances for the Cobblers before Newcastle came calling.
Although Toney recently revealed that a move to Wolverhampton Wanderers collapsed as the club discovered scoliosis in his back, the Magpies capitalised on the situation, signing the frontman for a reported £250k in 2015.
Unfortunately, Toney made merely four appearances for Newcastle and was sold three years later to Peterborough United in League One for £650k. Eventually, the striker's impressive goalscoring form for Posh earned him a transfer to Brentford who were pushing for their first-ever promotion to the Premier League under Thomas Frank. The London club gave Peterborough £10m to secure his services.
At Brentford, Toney has gone from strength to strength, becoming the club's all-time top goalscorer with 68 goals and even being labelled as "remarkable" by head coach Frank. The 27-year-old was handed an eight-month ban back in May for breaching the FA's betting rules, although he is set to return to action this coming January.
The two clubs play each other once more on the final day of the Premier League season and Toney will certainly want to make his former club regret selling him, especially now that he is worth 47 times what Newcastle sold him for five years ago.
Toney's stats comparison
Last season, Toney scored more goals than both Newcastle strikers Isak and Wilson, bagging 20 and registering four assists in 33 Premier League appearances. In 31 games, Wilson scored 18 times while Isak finished with 11 goals in his debut campaign in the top flight from 24 matches. However, Wilson's goals per 90 record of 0.86 was far better than Isak's 0.59 and Toney's 0.61, according to FBref.
That being said, Toney was more prolific when it came to scoring chances that arose as the England international was having fewer opportunities per game than the duo up north. The Brentford talisman averaged 2.65 shots per 90. Newcastle's Swedish sensation boasted 2.8 shots per 90 while Wilson averaged the highest number of shots per 90 with 3.35.
The main reason for this was because Brentford had the fifth-lowest share of possession in the Premier League last term with 43.8% compared to the Magpies holding the seventh-highest with 52.3%.
In addition, Toney's xG per 90 average during the 2022/23 league campaign was 0.57 while Wilson maintained a 0.84 xG per 90 rate. The former scored more goals despite having fewer quality opportunities.
There is no doubt that Isak and Wilson are fine frontmen and have served Newcastle well during their respective stints at St. James' Park. However, the stats show that Toney would outperform the double-act if he still played for Newcastle, a sale that may still haunt the previous ownership.