In a recent interview (via Caught offiside), Stan Collymore urged Aston Villa to move in for Brentford forward Ivan Toney in the summer. Collymore said,
“I would love to see Aston Villa join the party.
“I know Toney’s preference may be to stay in London, but if he fancies a change of scenery, I would happily drive him to the Midlands myself.
“Unai Emery is one injury away from having no recognised striker. If Ollie Watkins is sidelined, that only leaves Jhon Duran, and he’s injured himself at the moment, so it’s obvious Villa needs a new forward — Toney would be a superb addition.”
Toney’s Season At Brentford So Far
Toney has missed a lot of games for the Bees this season due to suspension. However, the English talent has done well to find the back of the net three times in four matches for Brentford during this campaign in multiple competitions.
The 27-year-old has caught the eye at times in the final third by averaging 2.5 shots and 0.5 key passes per game in the Premier League. However, he has to find a way to improve his link-up play up top after completing only 53.4% of his attempted passes in the English top tier (stats via whoscored).
What Will Toney Add To Aston Villa Boss Unai Emery’s Side?
Toney can create a yard of space for himself to get some strikes in on-target. He has proven himself to be a capable finisher in Premier League football. The English forward can also create the odd chance for others around him on the offensive end of the field. Standing at 1.85m, he can hold possession up well for his teammates but needs to find a way to improve his link-up play up top.
At the moment, Toney is trying to re-establish himself as a consistent goal-getter at Brentford. We can expect him to add more firepower to Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery’s frontline.
At 27, Toney is about to enter his prime soon which makes him a worthy target for the Villans to consider in the summer. Hence, the West Midlands club would be wise to go all out to secure the services of the English attacker when the transfer window reopens later this year.
