During a woeful summer at Wolverhampton Wanderers, the club were forced into selling some of their star-studded talent to comply with Financial Fair Play (FFP) restrictions, leaving Gary O'Neil with a depleted squad after taking over from Julen Lopetegui.
The restrictions thrown at the club meant that they were unable to find worthy replacements for their outgoing stars, impacting their performances at the start of the season.
With confidence on the floor after one win from their first six matches, Wolves managed to pull off a stunning 2-1 victory over Manchester City on Saturday to inject some much-needed positivity around the club, perhaps giving them the impetus in future matches.
Despite managing to put two past the treble winners, O'Neil's side are still lacking firepower in the final third with Fabio Silva and Matheus Cunha – two big-money signings – unable to resolve their woes with eight goals between them in 98 appearances for the club.
One man who could have resolved their goal-scoring issues and provided the required dynamite in the final third is Ivan Toney, a player they were linked with during his time at Northampton Town.
Did Wolves almost sign Ivan Toney?
Brentford hotshot Toney may be serving a ban from football untill January after breaching the FA's rules on betting, however, the Englishman is still one of the most sought-after players in the Premier League.
He is currently being chased by the likes of Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal as they prepare for a January bidding war with the Bees demanding upwards of £70m for the 27-year-old.
While Brentford look set to land a colossal profit from their initial £5m outlay in 2020, Toney's path to the top could have been a lot different if Wolves had snapped him in up 2014 when he was playing his trade for Northampton Town.
Wolves agreed a fee of £500,000 to sign Toney from the Cobblers only for a problem to show up at the medical stage, with the club subsequently cancelling his transfer to Molineux.
Manager at the time, Kenny Jackett, commented: "There's a number of things, but it didn't come off. The exact nature of it has to stay confidential, but the interest isn't there now. We wish the player all the best and we move on. I wouldn't say the door is completely closed but he won't be coming in this time."
Toney has since recorded five goal contributions in as many appearances against Wolves, coming back to haunt the Midlands club after the medical mishap.
How good is Ivan Toney?
Running out of superlatives to describe his breathtaking finishing, the "monster", as lauded by one writer, has provided Brentford with the dynamite required to stay in the Premier League and there is no surprise to see big clubs circling for his signature.
A beast in the air, rarely shirking from an aerial duel, and a menace in the box, Toney is a complete forward who can transform the goal-scoring fortunes of any club in the division.
According to FBref, in the Premier League last term, the £20k per-week sharp shooter showcased his ability to rise above defenders by ranking in the top 9% for aerial duels won against his positional peers, while his shooting metrics – the sort that Wolves could have utilised – are some of the best in the divison.
He placed within the top 11% for goals scored and top 14% for expected goals (xG) which are metrics that would only improve tenfold if the Englishman had the opportunity to flourish with more world-class players around him, a chance that may arise in the winter.
While the Old Gold finished bottom for goals scored last season with 31, Toney's total of 20 saw only Harry Kane and Erling Haaland finish ahead of him in the scoring charts.
To put it into perspective, Wolves' top scorers were two players who departed the club this summer, Ruben Neves and Daniel Podence, who finished on six each – a telling indictment of their blunt edge in the final third, and one that Toney would have sharpened tremendously.
