This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…
Back in the summer, funds were tight at The Valley – presumably, they still are.
So much so that Charlton boss Lee Bowyer sold Dutch right-back Anfernee Dijksteel in order to fund a move for Peterborough striker Ivan Toney.
“The Anfernee money was going to go on Toney. But that didn’t come off.
“We were always trying to keep Lyle [Taylor]. The plan was to play Toney alongside Lyle. That’s why we sold Anfernee [to spend the money in other areas of the pitch].”
Sadly for the Addicks, the League One side rejected all of their bids, and one would assume that Bowyer will be kicking himself that a move for the forward never materialised given Toney’s stunning start to the campaign.
After scoring an eye-catching 23 goals across all competitions in 2018/19, the former Newcastle man has begun the 2019/20 campaign on fire.
The 23-year-old has been smashing the goals in like it’s nothing, finding the back of the net ten times in just 12 League One appearances this season.
Form like that will presumably not go unnoticed by other clubs – Barnsley and another unnamed Championship side were also interested back in the summer – and one assumes that Charlton might regret missing out on Toney.
For one, competition for his signature may potentially increase following his quite ridiculous start to the season, while Toney’s price tag may also rise due to his added importance to Peterborough and his young age – there is definitely room for improvement on what is already an outstanding footballer.
The Addicks haven’t struggled too much without Toney in their ranks as they currently sit just five points off the top of the table, but there could be cause for concern in the near future.
Their main man up top, Lyle Taylor, has scored five goals in six games, but he is still yet to sign a new contract with his current deal set to expire in the summer, and Toney could have become the ideal replacement.
Macauley Bonne is the only other Addicks forward to score a decent amount of goals with four in seven appearances, while Chuks Aneke has just one goal to his name – Tomer Hemed is still yet to score.
Given the lack of firepower behind Taylor, missing out on the deal for Toney could become quite the blunder if the club’s talisman elects not to extend his stay at The Valley, and Bowyer will surely be kicking himself if he ends up with just Bonne, Aneke and Hemed to fire in the goals.
