With Newcastle United’s recent injury crisis, it has allowed Eddie Howe to give multiple youngsters valuable first-team minutes in the Premier League.
Lewis Miley is a player who’s taken his first-team opportunity, with the 17-year-old making 16 appearances for the Magpies in the top flight this campaign.
The talented midfielder even scored his first goal in the 3-0 win against Fulham, making him the club’s youngest-ever goalscorer in the Premier League.
Although he’s not featured as often as Miley, midfielder Elliot Anderson is another Academy graduate who has often featured under Howe this season, with the former Bristol Rovers loanee making 10 appearances – most of which from the substitutes bench.
Given the trust in Newcastle’s young players this season, the club may regret selling a former academy player who has gone on to achieve unbelievable things in the Premier League throughout the last few seasons.
Ivan Toney’s stats at Newcastle United
After arriving at St James’ Park from Northampton Town back in 2015, 18-year-old Ivan Toney made his debut during the 4-1 League Cup victory over his former side.
The striker eventually joined Barnsley for two separate loan spells, where he made a combined 21 appearances, scoring two goals in his first taste of League One football.
He followed his loan move to Oakwell with loan spells at Shrewsbury Town, Wigan Athletic, and Scunthorpe United, amassing a tally of 28 goals in England’s third-tier, before returning to St James’ Park in the summer of 2018.
Despite his successful loan spells away from the club, Newcastle agreed to sell Toney to Peterborough United for a fee in the region of £350k, with the Magpies placing a 30% sell-on fee within the transfer.
Ivan Toney’s stats since leaving Newcastle United
His move to Peterborough was the start of the striker’s rapid rise through the Football League and into the Premier League.
Toney spent two successful seasons at Posh, with the former Newcastle forward making 94 appearances in all competitions, bagging himself 49 goals – a tally that caught the eye of Championship side Brentford.
He joined Brentford in a deal rising to £10m with add-ons – a deal that looks to be a bargain given his form for the Bees in the Championship and Premier League.
The striker took the Championship by storm, scoring 31 times for the Bees in the season they gained promotion to the Premier League for the first time in the club’s history.
Toney’s tally that season broke the Championship record for most goals in a 46-game season until it was broken by Fulham’s Aleksander Mitrovic just a year later.
The striker continued his brilliant form in the Premier League under Thomas Frank, scoring 12 times in his first Premier League campaign. However, it was his second season that brought all the attention to Toney for on and off-the-field reasons.
|
Ivan Toney’s stats for Brentford |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Season |
Appearances |
Goals |
|
2020/21 |
45 |
31 |
|
2021/22 |
33 |
12 |
|
2022/23 |
33 |
20 |
|
2023/24 |
8 |
4 |
|
Stats via Transfermarkt |
||
The “remarkable” forward, as dubbed by manager Frank, scored 20 times for the Bees but was hit with an FA charge for breaking betting rules that would see him serve an eight-month ban from all competitions.
His first game back from his ban was in the 3-2 victory over Nottingham Forest, with Toney scoring and claiming the Player of the Match award.
Since his return, he has been linked to the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal this summer, amid reports that his club value him at up to £100m, with the Magpies missing out on a deal that would’ve brought them a clinical Premier League striker, but also an exceptional profit.
Therefore, Newcastle had a mare with the sale of Toney as they let him for £350k, and he is now valued at significantly more than that, at £100m.
