If Wolves had signed this player in 2014, their goal-scoring problems would have been solved for years to come.
When Gary O’Neil took over from Julen Lopetegui at Wolverhampton Wanderers following a disastrous summer, the team was left with a weakened squad as a result of the club being obliged to sell some of their star-studded players to comply with Financial Fair Play (FFP) requirements.
Due to the limitations placed on the club, they were unable to identify deserving successors for their departing players, which had an effect on their performances at the beginning of the season.
Wolves managed to pull off a surprising 2-1 victory over Manchester City on Saturday to inject some much-needed positivity around the club and potentially give them the drive in future matches. Wolves had confidence on the floor after one win from their first six games.
Despite managing to score twice against the triple champions, O’Neil’s team still lacks potency in the final third as big-money newcomers Fabio Silva and Matheus Cunha have combined for just eight goals in 98 games for the club.
Ivan Toney, a player they were connected with while he was at Northampton Town, is one guy who could have fixed their goal-scoring problems and supplied the necessary dynamite in the last third.
Ivan Toney was almost signed by Wolves.
Brentford starlet After breaking the FA’s betting regulations, Toney is currently serving a suspension from football until January, yet the Englishman is still one of the Premier League’s most in-demand players.
With the Bees asking more than £70 million for the 27-year-old, teams like Chelsea, Tottenham, and Arsenal are pursuing him as they get ready for a January bidding war.
While Brentford anticipates making a huge profit on their initial $5 million investment in 2020, Toney’s career trajectory may have been very different if Wolves had signed him in 2014, when he was playing for Northampton Town.
Toney was set to be transferred to Molineux for £500,000 by Wolves from the Cobblers, but a medical issue forced the club to back out of the deal.
At the time, Kenny Jackett, the manager, said: “There are a lot of things, but it didn’t work. Although the specifics must remain private, there is currently no interest. We send our best wishes to the player and carry on. He won’t be entering this time, though I wouldn’t say the door is totally closed.
After the medical mishap, Toney has subsequently contributed to five goals in as many games against Wolves, returning to haunt the Midlands club.
Ivan Toney’s talent level?
There aren’t enough adjectives to adequately describe the “monster,” as one writer dubbed him, who has given Brentford the explosiveness they need to stay in the Premier League, so it’s no surprise that big teams are flocking to recruit him.
Toney is a complete forward who can change the goal-scoring fortunes of any club in the division. He is a beast in the air, rarely backing down from an aerial fight, and a nuisance in the box.
According to FBref, the £20k per week sharp shooter showed off his ability to outperform defenders in the Premier League last season by placing in the top 9% for aerial duels won against positional peers, and his shooting metrics, the kind Wolves could have used, are some of the best in the
division.
He finished in the top 11% for goals scored and the top 14% for expected goals (xG), both measures that might increase tenfold if the Englishman had the chance to thrive with more elite players nearby, a chance that could present itself in the upcoming winter.
Only Harry Kane and Erling Haaland finished ahead of Toney in the scoring statistics with 20 goals each, as the Old Gold, with 31 goals, finished last in terms of goals scored.
In order to put things into perspective, Toney would have greatly improved Wolves’ blunt edge in the final third. Wolves’ highest scorers were two players who left the club this summer, Ruben Neves and Daniel Podence, who finished with six each.
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