Newcastle now interested in landing £30m star, who Matt Targett admits is seriously difficult to handle

By Tom Avery

Newcastle United are interested in re-signing Ivan Toney this summer with the Magpies expected to end their interest in Benfica striker Darwin Nunez.

The Telegraph reports that the Toon Army have lined up a move for Brentford’s top scorer as they believe Nunez wants to join a Champions League club.

The 22-year-old Uruguayan, who has scored 33 goals this season, is going to be subject of interest from some of the biggest clubs across Europe this summer.

Despite PIF having lofty ambitions of luring the coveted striker to Tyneside, it seems the club’s Saudi-led consortium has admitted defeat in signing Nunez at this moment in time.

With interest in Nunez cooling, Newcastle’s interest in Toney has intensified. The St James’ Park side sold Toney to Peterborough for just £650,000 back in 2018, when Rafa Benitez was in charge.

Toney signed for Brentford in a deal worth around £10m two years later and has shone in the top flight since firing the Bees to promotion from the Championship last year.

The 26-year-old has scored 14 goals in all competitions, 12 of which have come in the Premier League. That’s double the amount Newcastle’s top scorer, Callum Wilson (6), has managed this campaign.

The Telegraph claim that Thomas Frank’s side would want upwards of £30m for their centre forward but are aware the player is keen to move to a bigger club at the end of the season.

No English player has scored more goals than Toney in the Premier League this season and the physical forward will no doubt be hoping to force his way into Gareth Southgate’s World Cup plans.

Newcastle United left-back Matt Targett spoke earlier this season about how difficult it is to handle Toney.

Signing a striker in the summer is set to be a priority for Newcastle, despite spending £25m on Chris Wood in the January window.

Ivan Toney would be coming back to Newcastle with a point to prove and he’s already shown this season that he’s a handful for any Premier League side.