Chelsea are likely to be in the market for a striker this summer, and their new manager could be presented with a number of options ahead of the 2023/24 Premier League campaign.
Goalscoring has been a major issue for the Blues in the top flight so far this campaign, with just 30 goals in 31 outings, and it appears that a clinical forward is required if the west London outfit are to challenge at the top again next season.
Although Romelu Lukaku could still return after his loan spell with Inter, Todd Boehly could find a significantly more reliable option in Brentford talisman Ivan Toney.
Could Chelsea sign Ivan Toney?
In a recent article for GiveMeSport, journalist Dean Jones detailed five different striker options for Chelsea ahead of what will be a vitally important summer transfer window for the club, while touching on the chances of Toney moving across west London.
He wrote: "Toney has proven himself to be a regular goalscorer in the Premier League and he has a confidence in his own ability that Chelsea have been crying out for.
"A ban is looming over his betting investigation and that needs to be factored into the potential of any pursuit, but it is true that he has caught the eye of Chelsea recruiters who feel he could be a good fit with the other attacking players available to them.
"Brentford will not let him leave easily. They sold Ollie Watkins to Aston Villa for £33m at a time when he had not even played in the Premier League. Toney eclipses anything he had achieved and will easily be valued at over £50m by the Bees."
Would Toney be an upgrade on Lukaku?
As Jones suggests, Toney has developed a supreme confidence in his own ability which has been cultivated in a series of phenomenal goalscoring seasons in the lower leagues and the top flight.
He crashed in 49 goals in 94 appearances for Peterborough United before earning a move to the Bees, where he broke a long-standing record in the Championship for most goals scored by a single player, hitting 33 as Thomas Frank's side were promoted through the play-offs.
The English forward enjoyed a strong debut campaign in the Premier League with 12 goals and five assists, while he has been one of the most consistent players in the division so far this season, registering 18 goals and four assists in just 29 appearances.
Frank was full of praise for his star striker in 2021, saying:
"If you want to be a top player you need to work hard, constantly reflect and want to learn and then of course you need to have that confidence that he’s got so naturally.
"He’s coming across so fantastically: he’s humble, calm, but with a mindset of a lion."
By comparison, Kai Havertz is the top scorer at Stamford Bridge this term with just seven Premier League goals, while the £97.5m spent on Lukaku in 2021 has also gone down the drain as he continues to struggle out on loan with Inter.
The Belgian forward would manage just eight top-flight goals last season and has registered just three in Serie A during his current loan spell, so looks unlikely to be the saviour at Chelsea next year.
Not only is Toney a younger, more confident goalscorer than Lukaku, but he has also averaged far more shots (3 vs 1.7), aerials won (3.4 vs 1.6) and average passes (23.1 vs 13.2) than the 29-year-old this season, so could represent a significant upgrade at Stamford Bridge should Boehly bring him in.