Toney’s Return: Brentford Heading in the Right Direction

Just a few weeks ago, you’d be right to be worried about Brentford’s immediate future in the Premier League. However, the return of their star man Ivan Toney has proved to have an instant impact on their bid to steer clear of the relegation zone.

The 27-year-old has previously served an eight-month ban due to gambling issues, with his last game for the Bees coming back in May 2023. However, Toney has returned to action for Brentford and has featured on four occasions since his return.

There’s been a clear change in both results and performances since the striker’s return, with Brentford now sitting in 14th place and six points clear of the relegation zone with a game in hand on Everton and Nottingham Forest below them. Since Toney’s return, Brentford have registered two wins in four Premier League games, whereas before his return, they had managed just two in their last 11 games. Therefore, today, we will examine how important that is for Brentford’s survival hopes.

Toney’s Immediate Impact

Toney returned to action last month in Brentford’s crucial fixture against Nottingham Forest. Ahead of the game, Forest were above Brentford, with the Bees sitting in 16th place and just four points above the drop.

The returning forward would captain the side on his return and would score a controversial free-kick to send Brentford on their way to an eventual 3-2 victory over Forest.

Toney would score again the following week, but his goal ultimately wasn’t enough to prevent a 3-2 defeat this time, at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur. The week after, Thomas Frank’s side would also be defeated 3-1 by Manchester City.

But just as it seemed like Brentford were getting dragged towards the drop again, they pulled off an impressive 2-0 away victory over Wolves. Toney put himself on the scoresheet once again to make it three goals in four games since returning to the side.

Frank’s Goalscoring Machine

Since Toney’s return, Brentford have scored eight goals in four games, providing a real increase in overall output. Frank’s new strike partnership of Toney and Neal Maupay, who returned to the club in the January transfer window, scored six of those eight goals.

Brentford’s recent goalscoring form averages two goals per game, which is up there with the recent records of the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City. Before Toney’s return, Brentford has only scored 26 goals in 19 Premier League games, averaging at just 1.37 goals per game.

Looking Forward

It’s also important to note that several of Brentford’s key players are yet to return to the squad from injury. Bryan Mbuemo, Kevin Schade, Frank Onyeka, Aaron Hickey, and Rico Lewis are all sidelined due to injury, whilst Yoanne Wissa is due to return from the African Cup of Nations.

However, Brentford are heading into a tricky run of fixtures, with their next five fixtures being against Liverpool, Manchester City, West Ham United, Chelsea and Arsenal. If the Bees are to get any positive results out of those games, Ivan Toney will undoubtedly be at the centre of every performance.