At the beginning of last season, Tottenham Hotspur were electric, with James Maddison’s quality being a huge part of their early success.
Unfortunately, his performances weren’t able to remain quite at that level, hence why Spurs are now looking to sign Eberechi Eze.
Luckily, the duo do have the capability to play alongside each other due to Eze’s ability to feature off the left-hand side.
So, who else could Spurs sign? Well, there's one target who would be pretty perfect for the aforementioned duo.
Spurs’ search for a centre forward
According to a report from Football Insider, Tottenham have "strong interest" in signing Ivan Toney from Brentford.
Ange Postecoglou is keen to secure his side a new centre forward, having played Heung-min Son in the role last season.
The England international currently has just a year left on his contract, which means the Bees may be forced into dropping their £50m-60m asking price.
Despite interest from West Ham United and Manchester United, it’s Spurs that are ‘particularly big admirers.’
Why Toney would be perfect for Eze and Maddison
It’s fair to say that the last 12 months have been rather difficult for Toney, mainly due to missing the majority of the 2023/24 campaign through a suspension for betting offences.
On his return, the Bees striker quickly reminded the Premier League why he’s a fantastic player, scoring on his return against Nottingham Forest.
The 28-year-old started a further 15 games, scoring four goals in total and providing two assists, which isn’t a terrible return considering he was playing for a struggling Brentford side.
An inclusion in the England squad for the European Championship will give him a huge boost ahead of next season, but it was his quality during the 2022/23 campaign that really showed his class.
Last season, other than Heung-min Son, Spurs lacked a reliable source of goals, a Harry Kane-esque player whose name popped up on the scoresheet more often than not.
Goals
0.61
0.25
xG
0.57
0.37
Shots
2.65
3.17
Progressive passes
2.41
2.48
Touches (Mid 3rd)
16.13
17.44
Aerials won
3.32
3.35
This is exactly what Toney would provide, as the absolute “monster," as dubbed by Brentford boss Thomas Frank, is a huge threat due to his physicality and confidence, with his goal record speaking for itself.
The number 17 is a player who can successfully thrive in different systems and situations, whether it be dropping deep to get on the ball and progress it or operating on the shoulder of the defender, as shown by the number of touches displayed in the table above.
Given that Toney is comfortable receiving the ball to his feet, he’d bring the likes of Eze and Maddison into the game far more, particularly in central areas where a quick one-two can unlock a defence.
On top of that, because of the former Newcastle United striker’s insane aerial ability – ranking in the top 9% of strikers in the Premier League throughout 2022/23 for aerial wins – he would provide a completely different approach in the final third than the likes of Son or Richarlison.
Eze and Maddison are the definition of creators, as shown by the fact they both average two key passes per game, and having a constant target to hit in the box would increase their creativity significantly, especially against a team that sits in a low block.
Overall, Toney has all the attributes to succeed at an elite club, and Spurs may just provide him with the perfect environment to become unstoppable, especially with the potential service he'd be on the end of.
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