Ivan Toney has opened up about his time at Newcastle United following his first call-up to the England squad this week.
Speaking from St George’s Park, the Brentford star admits that, looking back, he didn’t have the right mindset as a 20-year-old, suggesting this was one of the main reasons he didn’t make it as a youngster on Tyneside.
As we know, Toney left Newcastle for Peterborough four years ago, departing on a permanent deal worth a few hundred thousand after failing to impress Rafa Benitez.
Our decision to let him go has been slated now he’s an England international and one of the most dangerous strikers in the Premier League, yet the player has admitted himself that his “mindset” as a youngster wasn’t good enough.
Here’s what he told the press when asked about Newcastle’s decision to sell him back in 2018:
“That was a factor that did come into play.
“I felt like ‘you got rid of me, I’m going to show you what I’m capable of when I get the chance, whether it’s a Premier League side – or a League One side’.
“Leaving Newcastle, when I went to Peterborough, was an eye-opener.
“That was a case of ‘right, I have to turn my game around to get back up, I might see myself as a Premier League player, but I’m a League One player now, I have got to keep fighting and working hard’. And I certainly did that.
“Honestly, I didn’t have that belief when I went out on loan, but, with my family behind me, I always made sure I had some sort of belief.
“You would be going on loan, but, really, you wanted to be playing for your parent club, Newcastle, in the Premier League.
“Being young and dumb, I’d say (that), and not realising what you go on loan for is to get experience in men’s football.
“You are sulking away, but, looking back, now you realise all the benefits of going on loan.
“So when I have been going on loan, with my parents behind me, making sure I am 100% in training and matches, it’s helped me become the player I am today.
“But I feel, looking back, if I was a Newcastle manager looking at a 20-year-old Ivan Toney, would I have taken him? Probably not.
“There are no hard feelings, you just have got to get on with it. They have done what they had to do. They felt I wasn’t good enough, so it was up to me to pick myself up and go again.”
Did we make a big mistake? It’s hard to say no when you see the player he’s become, but does Ivan Toney become that same player had he stayed on Tyneside and potentially rotted in our reserves? I’m not so sure based on the lessons he’s learned since.
