Jeff Stelling believes Ivan Toney is the most suitable fit to bolster Manchester United’s frontline this summer.
In fairness, there are not many fans that would turn their noses up at the Brentford talisman, but it remains to be seen if the club could oversee such a deal.
The Bees are all but resigned to losing Toney when the window opens at the end of the 2023/2024 campaign, one that he’s only been able to feature in half of, given his eight-month ban for betting breaches.
Since returning to competitive action in January, the 28-year-old has notched four goals and one assist. Having picked up where he left off in terms of prolific form, Toney was called up to the England squad in March, subsequently earning his second cap and opening his account from the spot against Belgium.
It’s no secret that United will be on the hunt for a clinical striker to ease the goalscoring burden on Rasmus Hojlund this summer. Anthony Martial will also pull the curtains on his Red Devils career when his contract expires in June, freeing up the No.9 shirt for either a current or new player.
Stelling puts forward Toney case
Stelling shared his verdict on a vital window for the club – their first-ever under new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
“There are so many holes to plug because you are going to need central defenders, that is for sure,” he declared on talkSPORT.
“You are going to need some more central midfielders. You certainly need somebody else up-front, and I think Ivan Toney would fit the bill, but where does the money come from?”
Andy Townsend added: “That’s going to be £300 million for that lot, and then the ones going out the door, you are probably going to have to give most of them away [as] they are on such big money.”
A recent report from Florian Plettenberg claims that Toney, who has a total of 36 top-flight goals to his name, will cost between £30-40 million. He is out of contract at the Gtech Stadium in 2025.
Before signing any player just sack TenHag, he should have been sacked 6.months ago