Why Bournemouth would be foolish to pay £13m for Ivan Toney

According to The Sun, Bournemouth have been dealt a massive blow in their pursuit of Peterborough United striker Ivan Toney ahead of the January transfer window, with the Posh slapping an audacious £13million price tag on the 23-year-old.

The former Newcastle striker has already gobbled up 12 goals in 17 appearances for Peterborough United, who are currently placed 3rd in the League One following a wonderful start to the campaign under Darren Ferguson.

As well as Premier League sides Bournemouth and Burnley, a host of Championship clubs, including Cardiff City, Derby County, Bristol City and Middlesbrough, have all been linked with moves for Ivan Toney, who started his career at League Two outfit Northampton Town in the 2012-13 season. (h/t Sun)

Image result for ivan toney" — Ivan Toney has bagged 35 goals in 75 games for Peterborough United in all competitions (Getty Images)

Peterborough are desperate to hold on to their prized asset and have slapped an astonishing price tag of £13million to ward off interest, with club president Darragh MacAntony making it clear that any potential suitor who wants to prise Ivan Toney away from the club in January would need to break the League One transfer record. (h/t Sun)

Toney, who joined Newcastle United in 2015, struggled to establish himself in a substantial role at Tyneside and spent time on loan at Barnsley, Shrewsbury Town, Wigan Athletic and Scunthorpe United in the third-tier before earning a permanent transfer to Peterborough United in the summer of 2018.

Having bagged a staggering 23 goals in 55 appearances for the Posh in all competitions in the previous campaign, Toney has once again hit the ground running this term and a tally of 12 goals in 17 league outings suggests that he is well on course for another prolific season in League One.

Meanwhile, Eddie Howe’s willingness to build a team around young and developing homegrown players has been well-documented ever since Bournemouth’s rise to the Premier League, with the Cherries snapping up the likes of Lewis Cook, Jack Stacey, David Brooks, Joshua King, Callum Wilson, Lloyd Kelly, Chris Mepham and several others from the lower divisions.

To that end, Bournemouth’s interest in Ivan Toney certainly makes a lot of sense given that Howe has illustrated a great deal of proficiency when it comes to extracting the best out of burgeoning homegrown talents.

Indeed, Howe’s philosophy of polishing little-known youngsters into quality professionals has been one of the key reasons behind Bournemouth’s rise to a competent mid-table side in the Premier League.

However, one does get the feeling that the Cherries would be foolish to fork out a fee of £13million for someone like Ivan Toney, who is yet to prove his credentials outside of the third-tier of English football.

As per the report, Bournemouth are prepared to pay as much as £9m to secure the services of the 23-year-old, which in itself is a lot of money for a player who doesn’t even have enough Championship experience in his CV.

Verdict

Peterborough are well-known for unearthing gems and then selling them at a profit, having sold Dwight Gayle to Crystal Palace for £6.5million, Britt Assombalonga to Nottingham Forest for £5.5million and Ryan Bennett to Norwich for £3.5million, but £13 million sounds well and truly astonishing for a player in the League One. (h/t Sun)

As for Bournemouth, they are certainly not crying out for attacking reinforcements, with the likes of Callum Wilson and Josh King already sharing 8 goals between them in the Premier League so far.

Liverpool loanee Harry Wilson has also chipped in with 4 goals so far while the fans will be hoping to see more from fellow summer recruit Arnaut Danjuma Groeneveld in the coming months.

Realistically, with Ryan Fraser out of contract next summer, Bournemouth would be better off looking at a permanent deal for Harry Wilson or even try to bring in another impactful winger rather than breaking the bank to sign Ivan Toney.

The Cherries have Dominic Solanke as more than a handy back-up option even after selling Lys Mousset to Sheffield United in the summer, and there is hardly any evidence to suggest that Toney could possibly be an upgrade on the club’s existing striking options.

The 23-year-old’s impressive goal returns in League One hardly guarantee the same in the Premier League and splashing such a huge amount to sign him wouldn’t be a risk worth taking.

Most players need a stepping stone or an intermediate step, preferably in the form of a spell in the Championship, to make the transition from the third-tier to the top-flight, and Toney still remains very much unproven at the highest level.

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With that in mind, Bournemouth would be wise enough to drop their interest in the Peterborough United hitman, as there are other players in the market who could possibly offer better value for money.