The Brentford talisman has been in stunning form in recent years following his St James’ Park exit
Since the departure of record goalscorer, Alan Shearer, Newcastle United have seemingly been longing for a quality centre-forward to lead the line, with it looking as if summer signing Alexander Isak – who now has eight goals in just 13 Premier League games – could be an ideal candidate to fill that long-running void.
Prior to the Swede’s arrival, there had likely been continued frustration among supporters with regard to the strikers that former owner Mike Ashley had allowed to depart, with current Fulham star Aleksandar Mitrovic one such talent who has gone on to shine elsewhere.
The Serbia international – who arrived on Tyneside from Anderlecht back in 2015 – scored just 17 goals in 71 games for the Magpies in all competitions during his three-year spell at the club, before ultimately joining the west London outfit on a £22m deal.
Since then, the 28-year-old has proven remarkably prolific for the Cottagers after scoring 108 times in just 202 games across all fronts, leaving the northeast side to potentially rue their decision to move him on just under five years ago.
That being said, however, the formidable marksman hardly pulled up any trees during his time at St James’ Park – as his underwhelming goal record points to – while Ashley and co were at least able to recoup a sizeable fee with the 6 foot 2 man’s sale.
The same can not be said, however, with the exit of another former Newcastle man, Ivan Toney, with the Englishman having hardly been handed a chance to impress at the club, before being moved on to Peterborough for just £650k in 2018 – potentially representing a far bigger error for the club than that of Mitrovic’s departure.
Why did Newcastle sell Toney?
The Magpies had initially snapped up the young striker from Northampton Town for a fee of just £500k back in 2015, albeit with the 6 foot 1 ace going on to spend much of the next three years out on loan, after making just four first-team appearances at the club.
That lack of action ultimately led to a move to Posh, where the dynamic marksman scored 49 goals in just 94 games to earn a £5m switch to current side Brentford in 2020, quickly establishing himself as a leading man for the Bees.
A player with the “mindset of a lion“, according to manager Thomas Frank, Toney netted a standout haul of 33 goals during the 2020/21 campaign in the second tier, having since gone on to net 30 goals and provide nine assists in the Premier League over the past two seasons.
The current campaign, in particular, has proven rather remarkable as the 27-year-old has 18 league goals to his name to date – more than that of Mitrovic (11) – having even been linked with a return to Tyneside last summer.
Such has been the £20k-per-week man’s rise of late he was even said to be valued at around £50m amid that interest prior to the start of the season, with it undoubtedly set to sting that Ashley sold him on the cheap – more so than with regard to Mitrovic.
