Celtic are keeping tabs on Peterborough United’s centre-forward Ivan Toney, according to the Posh’s director of football Barry Fry. The 75-year-old told the Scottish Daily Mail (via The Scottish Sun) that both of the Old Firm clubs are interested in the 24-year-old.
Toney, formerly of Newcastle United, signed for Peterborough in August 2018 in a deal reportedly worth £648k (as per Transfermarkt.co.uk) and has been in impressive form this season.
In 32 League One appearances this season, he’s contributed an impressive 24 goals and six assists, as per Transfermarkt. Perhaps uncharacteristically for a striker, Toney has picked up 10 yellow cards this year.
According to WhoScored.com, his average performance rating in the league stands at an impressive 7.91/10 – making him Darren Ferguson’s most consistent performer.
Would you like to see the club make a move for Ivan Toney?
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TIF Thoughts…
Goalscoring clearly comes naturally to the Northampton-born forward, and with Celtic yet to tie down Odsonne Edouard to a long-term deal (despite such talks thought to be taking place), Toney could be somebody that Neil Lennon looks at in the future.
In our view, there are likely to be questions around whether or not he’ll be able to make the step up from League One to leading the line for a club the size of the Hoops. The player has just one more season remaining on his current contract and Fry has slapped a £15m price tag on the forward which is arguably rather steep given he could walk out of the club on a free transfer at the end of the 2020/21 campaign, while he is currently valued at £360k – which differs significantly from the figure quoted by Fry.
Therefore, it could be unlikely that Celtic continue to pursue the striker.