Connect with us

Sports

‘£50 Million signing required for Toon top six finish!’

Published

on

Newcastle united transfer news

When talking about the Magpies on his podcast ‘The Hard Truth’, Peterborough United Chairman, Darragh MacAnthony, said “If they [Newcastle United] want to be top six they are probably going to need to spend £50 million on a Toney type signing.” 

 

Eddie Howe’s side got off to a great start in the Premier League on Saturday beating Steve Cooper’s Nottingham Forest, 2-0.

 

Fans are very optimistic for the season ahead and the performance, dominating the newly promoted side from start to finish, has painted a picture that Howe’s side means business this season. 

 

However, as the transfer window remains open, more additions in the attacking area could bolster Newcastle’s chances of a top-six finish.

 

Toney Assessment 

 

As MacAnthony believes a player like Brentford striker, Ivan Toney, would give the Toon a great chance of finishing in a European spot, let’s look at what the 26-year-old would bring to St James Park.

 

Ivan Toney made his mark on English football in his second season at Peterborough United in the 2019/2020 season. The striker scored 24 goals in 32 appearances putting him on the radar of some of England’s biggest clubs. 

 

The following season, Toney earned a move to at the time Championship side, Brentford. In his first season, he broke the record for the most goals in a Championship season scoring 31 goals in 45 appearances. 

 

Then recently, Toney proved again he can do it on a bigger stage, scoring 12 Premier League goals last season. Four more than current Toon striker Callum Wilson.

 

Wilson vs Toney

 

Being similar types of players, it seems fair to directly compare the two to get a general idea of the quality of both.

 

Based on Callum Wilson’s 171 Premier League appearances and Ivan Toney’s 36. [PremierLeague.com]

 

Callum Wilson has scored 62 goals with a Minutes Per Goal Average (MPG) of 212 minutes. Toney’s is slightly higher, averaging at 232 MPG. When you compare this to a player like Mo Salah’s all-time MPG at 129, it is fair to say both strikers will be able to provide goals for most Premier League clubs.

 

But how do their shorts compare? Callum Wilson holds a respectable Premier League Shooting Accuracy percentage of 51 and a Shooting Success rate of 20.06%. Both are higher than Toney’s 46.97% Shooting Accuracy and 14.44% Shooting Success rate. 

When it comes to team play, Wilson also comes out on top with a Pass Completion rate of 68.46% compared to Toney’s 59.19%. 

 

Those stats make it fairly obvious that Callum Wilson is a good Premier League striker with Ivan Toney just behind, but with the potential to reach a similar level. 

 

So, it would be fair to make a judgement that Callum Wilson is currently a better option for Newcastle than Ivan Toney. But would Toney add that quality depth needed for European football? Of course. As well as this, we could then see a transition from Eddie Howe on the pitch back to a familiar 4-4-2 formation. Just like in the 2019/2020 season, when Howe used Callum Wilson upfront alongside someone like Dominic Solanke or Joshua King. This could be something Howe’s current Newcastle side could accommodate to. 

 

Would something like this work with the addition of Ivan Toney? 

Some may argue, that you don’t fix what isn’t broken, however, with Callum Wilson’s recent injury record another quality Premier League-proven striker would surely be a good signing.

 

Saying that a big money move for Ivan Toney this summer looks to be unlikely. Toney would be coming back to the Toon as a second choice and given how Newcastle have spent money this transfer window, it doesn’t seem like Dan Ashworth would be willing to fork out £50 million on a backup striker. 

 

Let us know your thoughts, would the addition of Ivan Toney be beneficial for Eddie Howe?

 

Join the conversation on our Facebook page!

Featured

Beth Mead left out of England Women’s World Cup squad

Published

on

Euro 2022 top goal scorer Beth Mead is not included in England Women’s World Cup squad.

The 27-year-old Arsenal forward has not played since November having been a major doubt for the competition.

This comes after an anterior cruciate ligament injury which she still has not fully recovered from.

England head coach Sarina Wiegman has named the 23-player squad for this summer’s tournament in Australia and New Zealand.

Tottenham striker Beth England, who has not been involved since last summer’s Euro competition is included.

Chelsea centre-back Millie Bright, who has been out with a knee injury since March, has made the 23-player squad.

Sarina Wiegman confirmed Bright would captain the team in the absence of injured defender Leah Williamson.

Wiegman went on to say she never thought Beth Mead would be fit in time for the tournament, saying: “She’s so positive and going well, but the timescale she had we would have taken so many risks to get to the World Cup

“I’m not willing to take that risk to push her too much and she gets injured again. We need to take care of players.”

England play Haiti in their opening match on 22nd July in Australia where they look to build on their success following Euro 2022.

Continue Reading

Featured

Karl Darlow set for permanent move away from Newcastle United

Published

on

After a successful loan spell to Hull City, Karl Darlow is poised for a permanent move away from St. James’.

Hull City manager Liam Rosenior has made it clear he wants to keep a hold of Newcastle United goalkeeper Karl Darlow.

Signing for the club in 2014 from Nottingham Forest, he went onto make 100 appearances for the magpies with his debut coming in 2015 under Steve McLaren. His best stint for the club was during the 2020/21 season making 25 appearances. He then saw himself fall out of favour when Martin Dubravka signed for the club and now with Nick Pope cementing the position as his own, Darlow saw himself drop down the pecking order.

Signing for Hull City on loan in January, he has since made 11 appearances keeping 5 clean sheets in the process, with three coming in the last four matches against good opposition in Millwall, Blackburn, and Watford.

“He’s been magnificent since he’s come in,” Rosenior said after Darlow’s clean sheet against Watford on Saturday. “I think he’s massively enjoying working here, I think he’s enjoying the club, he’s settled in with the players really really well.

“What I really like about Karl was as soon as he signed he had his young family come and join him and settle down in the area, and I think that’s helped him. Hopefully we’ll have discussions in the summer about his long-term future.”

Rosenior revealed earlier in the week his intention to keep Darlow at the club, and Hull are believed to be in discussions with Newcastle over making the goalkeeper’s stay at the MKM Stadium permanent – as his loan agreement is believed to have as an option.

Contracted at St. James’ until 2025, it seems as though a permanent move to Hull City would be the best thing for Darlow with his position at Newcastle United seemingly gone.

 

Where do you think Karl Darlow will be next season – let us know on our social media and follow us for latest North East Updates – https://linktr.ee/northeastupdates

Continue Reading

Featured

Our Premier League Team of the Season 2022/2023

Published

on

With the season drawing to a close, we have put together our Premier League Team of the Season.

In what has been a season that is set to go right down to the very end, it has been yet another spectacular campaign of football with players breaking out on to the scene and some very memorable moments.

Lets have a look at who we have decided is in the starting 11 for the Team of the Season.

The starting 11 was chosen in terms of not only who we think has been the best in those positions, but also who has either exceeded expectations but also who has done exactly what was expected of them in their position.

Nick Pope, Kieran Trippier and Sven Botman mean Newcastle United make up 60% of the defence in this team, but for good reason. This season, the magpies are currently bosting the best defence in the league conceding the least amount of goals, 24 to be precise.

William Saliba and Oleksandr Zinchenko make up the remaining two spots in the defence, the Arsenal duo have had a great campaign with the gunners still sat top of the league and looking to get their first league title in nearly 20 years.

A midfield three of Casemiro, Keving De Bruyne, and Martin Odegaard, three players so vital to their clubs and all having a wonderful season, it’s hard to put anyone else in there over them.

Up top, we have a front three of Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford, and Erling Haaland as all three players have had goals, influence, and star power in their clubs to push them to the very top this season.

The substitutes include top of the league goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, which seems harsh to leave him out of the starting squad but up against Nick Pope, either could go in and it would be a good decision, but Ramsdale just makes it onto our bench.

Ben Mee has had a cracking season with Brentford seeing them looking set to enjoy a top half finish with him at the heart of defence. Luke Shaw gets on the bench after a solid season under Ten Hag at United.

Bruno Guimaraes, Gabriel Martinelli, and Harry Kane are the remaining players on the bench, all have had a fantastic season but unfortunately only make the bench for this squad.

Roberto De Zerbi is the manager of the season for us, having joined Brighton in September following Graham Potter’s departure, many thought this spelt the end of Brighton’s good fortunes in the Premier League, but not only did De Zerbi do better than expected of him, he has taken a very good Brighton and Hove Albion team and improved them navigating them to a top half finish.

Manchester City only see two players in this team, although they have had a great season, the rotation of the team sees a great team instead of individual players, which is a testament to how Pep Guardiola wants his teams to be.

 

Premier League 22/23 Team of the Season:

Nick Pope (GK), Kieran Trippier, William Saliba, Sven Botman, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Casemiro, Kevin De Bruyne, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford, Erling Haaland.

Subs:

Aaron Ramsdale (GK), Ben Mee, Luke Shaw, Bruno Guimaraes, Alexis Mac Allister, Gabriel Martinelli, Harry Kane

Manager: Roberto De Zerbi (Brighton)

 

Who would you put in your Premier League Team of the Season – Let us know on our social media and follow us for latest North East Updates – https://linktr.ee/northeastupdates

 

Continue Reading

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Trending