Ivan Toney's maiden England call-up is a timely reminder why Newcastle United have appointed Dan Ashworth as the club's new sporting director to prevent another potential star flourishing elsewhere.
Toney has been named in the 28-man squad for England's UEFA Nations League fixtures against Italy and Germany, which are the Three Lions' final games before Gareth Southgate announces who will be going to the World Cup. On current form, you would not bet against Toney making the flight to Qatar.
Harry Kane, after all, is the only Englishman who has been directly involved in more Premier League goals than Toney since Brentford were promoted. In fact, only Kane and Spurs team-mate Son Heung-min have scored more goals in the top-flight than Toney in 2022.
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You can see why Toney was back on Newcastle's radar even before the summer window opened as Eddie Howe sought to bring in more firepower. However, Newcastle were put off by Brentford's asking price and the Magpies instead went on to sign Alexander Isak from Real Sociedad several months later after a move for Hugo Ekitike fell through.
It would have been a reunion few would have predicted not so long ago. Toney, after all, believed he had to leave Newcastle in the first place in 2018 to fulfil his potential because he felt former manager Rafa Benitez did not give him a proper chance. Benitez, for his part, has always stressed he was never told about the striker when he was out on loan at Scunthorpe United and Wigan.
Although there were never any guarantees that Toney would have flourished at Newcastle - no one working with the Magpies at the time predicted such a rise - Ashworth will look to ensure a scenario like this does not happen again by joining up the club's various departments. So if Newcastle are targeting a striker in the future, Ashworth will be the first to flag up someone who is out on loan or a player the club already have in the academy to make sure they are not overlooked.
There was certainly no danger of Toney falling through the net with Southgate, who had done his homework on Toney before calling up the 26-year-old this week.
“We have been tracking him for a long time," he told the England website. "I had a good chat with Thomas Frank about him last season. His form and his qualities - not only his goal scoring but his technical ability, build-up play and aerial prowess - gives us a different threat to some of the other players we could pick."
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