Ivan Toney reportedly had one shortcoming which meant he was discarded from Manchester United’s shortlist this summer.
The former Brentford striker’s protracted flirtation with a move to a top Premier League club ended on August 30 as he sealed a £40million move to Al-Ahli.
He has had a productive start to life in Saudi Arabia, scoring three times in four games, and almost won on his debut against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr.
In August 2023, he revealed his desire to ‘play for a big club and fight for trophies,’ but after his return from an eight-month betting ban, his list of suitors diminished despite an ever-shrivelling price tag attached to his name.
This summer Manchester United signed Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna for £36.5million while Arsenal opted not to buy a striker.
Ivan Toney reportedly had one flaw which saw him canned from Man United’s summer shortlist
The former Brentford star moved to Saudi Arabian club Al-Ahli in a deal worth £40million
United are again struggling to score goals – bottom clubs Wolves and Everton have scored as many as them (five) this season.
They have created 68 chances so far, so getting into the right positions is not the problem, but taking them is.
The question lingers: why didn’t they go for Toney, a proven talent in the Premier League?
According to ESPN, he was disqualified from Erik ten Hag’s shortlist because he did not press defenders with enough energy.
That was despite the Dutch boss being impressed with the Englishman’s goalscoring record.
Clubs often think about investing for the future as they do for guaranteed, immediate success.
In the last two seasons, United have splurged £72million on Rasmus Hojlund, who had scored 10 goals in Serie A the year before, and £36.5m on Zirkzee, who notched 11 at Bologna in 2023-24.
It is a far cry from their policy in 2012, when they signed 29-year-old Robin van Persie for £24m from Arsenal on a £250,000 per week deal with the order to win them the Premier League that season, Wayne Rooney bidding him ‘welcome to Manchester United mate’ on Twitter. Players, as Chelsea have shown, are increasingly treated as long-term assets.
Man United reportedly chose not to sign him because he does not press energetically enough
Erik ten Hag has been handed younger strikers in Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee
Toney’s best Premier League season to date was in 2022-23, when he scored 20 times to help Brentford finish ninth.
Ever since his prolific days in League One and the Championship, he has been talked about as an option for top-level clubs.
However, he only managed to score four times in 17 games after coming back from his betting ban and the Bees have been coping fine without him.
Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa have notched seven goals between them this season and pose a significant threat as a front two.
Brentford went ahead in the first minute against Manchester City and Tottenham, although they were unable to hold on to their lead on both occasions.
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