‘Magnificent’, ‘Huge potential’ – Many WBA fans react as rivals reportedly bid for 24y/o target
West Brom will be eager to land a new striker this summer ahead of their return to the Premier League.
With the greatest of respect to Hal Robson-Kanu, Charlie Austin, and Kenneth Zohore, none of them have shown enough over the past 12 months to suggest that they are a Premier League goalscorer in waiting.
It’s unsurprising, therefore, that there has been widespread speculation about potential targets over the past few months, with one recurrent name being that of Ivan Toney.
Even as recently as last week, Football Insider were reporting that the door has been left open for Albion to make a move for the 24-year-old this summer.
But if they are to seal a deal for the Peterborough United man, they will have to pull their finger out.
According to talkSPORT his current employers accepted a bid of around £10 million for the hitman from Brentford earlier in the week.
That price tag would likely be comprised of an initial cost of around £6 million and a series of add-ons.
From an Albion perspective, however, it led to some debate among fans over whether or not their club should be looking to match that bid, and for that matter, whether he could cut it in the Premier League.
The general response was essentially two-fold.
The price is too high, but yes he could.
And we’re inclined to agree.
There’s absolutely no doubting Toney’s quality.
The striker hit 26 goals in 39 outings last season, and look razor sharp throughout.
In fact, he looked so good that it’s not hard to imagine him making the considerable step up from League One to the Premier League with relatively little hassle or fuss.
The point still remains, however, that Toney is an unproven talent at the highest level, and bearing in mind that West Brom supposedly only have around £25 million to spend this summer, it could be an expensive gamble that the club decide against taking.
Here are some of the best tweets from West Brom supporters: