Ivan Toney: Brentford’s Drogba shows he’s ready for the big time with Man City brace

Robin Bairner

• 12 Nov 2022 21:22 GMT
• 3 min read

Ivan Toney outshone Erling Haaland at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday as Brentford claimed a shock 2-1 victory over Manchester City – something that few, if any, can claim to have done this season.

It’s been a tough week for the forward, who missed out on international selection for England’s World Cup 2022 side but with 24 hours had made amends by proving himself ready to take the next big step up in his club career.

Toney scored twice and had an effort for a third scrambled off the line by Kevin De Bruyne as the Bees claimed another stunning success, which endorsed the methods of both manager Thomas Frank and the club, and served to highlight the quality of Toney.

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Signed from Peterborough for €5.6 million in the summer of 2020, Toney is now estimated to be worth €35m by FootballTransfers – and his valuation continues to grow.

Aged 26, he is considered a late bloomer, yet this should not put clubs off – Didier Drogba was the same age when he joined Chelsea and still had time in his career to become one of the club’s great forwards.

And there are no shortage of leading clubs who need a striker. Chelsea and Manchester United are both in the market for a forward player – the Red Devils have previously been linked with him – and even Arsenal could use an alternative to Gabriel Jesus, who has found goals suddenly hard to come by recently.

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Toney shines vs Man City

Toney has already demonstrated his ability to mix it with the best teams in England while playing with the Bees. This season alone, he has two assists against Manchester United, a goal to his credit against Newcastle and Saturday’s brace versus City.

Indeed, along with Haaland and Harry Kane, he is one of three players guaranteed to go into the World Cup break in double figures in Premier League goals.

Gareth Southgate may live to regret not picking him for England and in the meantime, it would be little surprise if Brentford did not have to fend off interest in Toney from leading clubs ahead of the January transfer window.