Ivan Toney
Striker
Ivan Toney has been the subject of many interesting conversations during the past couple of years. He had a phenomenal 2022/23 season with Brentford, scoring 20 goals in 33 appearances. Towards the end of this season, he was widely regarded as England’s second best striker behind Kane. Transfer rumors began swirling, and he was linked to massive clubs such as Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester United, and many more. Some speculated his transfer fee would eclipse £100 million, which would make him one of the most expensive players in Premier League history. Unfortunately, all of the hype surrounding Toney was quickly extinguished when he was handed an 8 month ban from all competitions due to illegal sports betting in May of 2023. This meant he was banned from most of England’s qualifying games and has been unable to play any competitive football. In fact, he has only played one competitive game for England which was a 9 minute cameo at the end of a qualifying match. He has since returned to Brentford, but has not returned to the level he reached during the 2022/23 season. Currently, he only has 4 goals in 13 matches. While we think he will be an excellent choice for the England squad once he regains his form, Ollie Watkins seems like the more sensible choice for this tournament due to the outstanding season he is having at Aston Villa. However, Southgate may surprise us all and put his faith in Toney’s undeniable talent and goal scoring ability.
