Tottenham tipped to sign Ivan Toney this summer
Former scout Bryan King wants Tottenham to sign Ivan Toney from Brentford.
Ivan Toney returned to action back in January after serving a long ban for breaching gambling regulations. His return hasn’t gone according to plan, as the England international only has four goals and picked up two assists in his 17 appearances.
Despite that, there is no shortage of interest in his services. Tottenham are one of the clubs linked with the Brentford striker as their search for a new number nine continues.
Bryan King believes the North London club need to sign the 28-year-old if they want to go and challenge the best teams in Europe.
While talking to Tottenham News, the ex-Spurs scout said: “If Spurs want to go big, they need to sign Toney. He would be the perfect replacement for Richarlison for me.
“It would cost them almost nothing if Richarlison was to move to Saudi Arabia because they could use that money to sign Toney.
“I think Toney could be a Spurs player soon.”
King believes the North London club should look to bring him in as a replacement for Richarlison at the end of the season. There is a lot of interest in the Brazilian international from the Middle East.
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The in-demand star could move to the white side of North London.
On Sunday afternoon, Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur side ended their Premier League campaign with an emphatic win over Sheffield United.
While there have certainly been some speed bumps along the way, the Australian’s first season in England has largely been positive.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou
However, the last 11 games of the season saw the club lose six, conceding 22 goals and scoring just 15 in the process, suggesting that, alongside the defence, the attack needs revamping heading into the summer, and based on recent reports, the latest player touted for a move to N17 could be the perfect option to replace Son Heung-min up top.
According to a recent report from a Spanish publication, Tottenham are now interested in RB Leipzig’s talented striker Benjamin Šeško ahead of the summer window and could even snatch him from under the noses of fierce rivals Arsenal.
Moreover, the report has also named Chelsea as an interested party, meaning all three London clubs could be set to do battle for the 20-year-old’s signature.
The report does not mention a price, but Sky Sports Germany journalist Philipp Hinze reported over the weekend that the Bundesliga side have set the forward’s release clause at €65m for the summer, which converts to around £56m.
It wouldn’t be a cheap deal to get done, but it might be worth it to bring in an out-and-out goalscorer into the team to replace Son upfront, especially if it means denying Arsenal and Chelsea the same opportunity.
How Šeško compares to Son
So, if Postecoglou were to get his hands on Šeško this summer, he would have to play him up top to get the best out of him, as he has only ever started one game in another position.
Therefore, the two men he’d be up against for a spot in the starting lineup would likely be Son and Richarlison, and when it comes to pure goalscoring, he has them both beat.
So far this season, the Slovenian has scored 18 goals for Leipzig, while the South Korean has 17 and the Brazilian 12, so while there is undoubtedly some more competition to be had with the former Bayer Leverkusen ace, the former Everton star is comfortably beaten.
So, how do the pair stack up when comparing their striker-relevant underlying metrics? Perhaps unsurprisingly, given his familiarity with the role, the former Salzburg “machine,” as talent scout Jacek Kulig described him, comes out comfortably ahead.
For example, he produces a higher non-penalty expected goals figure, scores more non-penalty goals, takes more shots and shots on target, scores from more of his shots and shots on target, and wins considerably more aerial duels, all per 90.
Now, while the “prolific” youngster, as dubbed by Kulig, would be an upgrade on the Lilywhites’ captain as a striker, that doesn’t mean Ange should just drop the talented attacker altogether.
In just 11 starts out wide this season, the Chuncheon-born star scored three goals and provided four assists, averaging a healthy return of a goal involvement every 1.5 games for the North Londoners.
Heung-min Son for Tottenham
Ultimately, Spurs are still some ways off the top teams in the country, and while Son is an incredible player, signing Šeško to come in as an upgrade at number nine would be a brilliant idea, and it would also rob Arsenal of one of their top targets at the same time.
