Ivan Toney of Peterborough United celebrates scoring his sides first goal during the Sky Bet League One match between Oxford United and Peterborough United at Kassam Stadium. (Getty Images)
According to the Daily Record, Celtic have been issued a stern warning by Peterborough United director of football Barry Fry, who has claimed that the Hoops are running out of time to complete a move for Ivan Toney.
As per the report, the Posh chief has admitted that he’s waiting for an offer from Celtic, but has also claimed that the 24-year-old in-demand hitman is closing in on a move to another club.
Back in January, Toney was mentioned as a key target for the Hoops. While the player himself was understood to be keen on a move to Parkhead, the former Newcastle United star’s future remains up in the air for the time being. (h/t Daily Record)
Celtic boss Neil Lennon is keen to bolster his striking options this summer and has also been credited with an interest in free agent Steven Fletcher, West Ham striker Albian Ajeti and Man City youngster Lukas Nmecha.
Ivan Toney shot to prominence at Northampton Town in League Two before earning a move to Newcastle United but he made only a couple of Premier League appearances for the Magpies.
The Northampton-born striker spent time on loan at Barnsley, Shrewsbury Town, Scunthorpe United, and Wigan Athletic, all in League One, before joining Peterborough United on a permanent deal back in the summer of 2018.
The 24-year-old has been quite unstoppable since then, plundering an astonishing 49 goals in 94 appearances for the London Road outfit, including 26 goals in 39 games last term. Toney’s prolific form has alerted several Championship clubs as well as Celtic.
In Odsonne Edouard, Celtic arguably boast of the most prolific striker in the Scottish Premiership. But the Frenchman’s incredible form has attracted widespread interest from several clubs across the continent.
Edouard bagged 21 goals en route Celtic’s ninth straight domestic triumph in the previous campaign while experienced hitman Leigh Griffiths also rose to the occasion as the designated understudy, chipping in with 9 league goals.
Patryk Klimala recently found the net in Celtic’s 5-1 demolition of Hamilton on the opening matchday of the 2020-21 campaign. However, he’s yet to prove himself capable of delivering the goods on a consistent basis.
Vakoun Issouf Bayo has largely underwhelmed during his spell at Parkhead. He is likely to be loaned out this summer after struggling for playtime last season.
Taking all those factors into consideration and regardless of Edouard’s future at the club, the Hoops need to bring in another striker to maintain adequate depth in the attack. That could prove to be a deciding factor as they bid to make it 10 league titles in a row.
Ivan Toney has been making waves in the English third-tier for quite a while now and looks more than capable of stepping up to the challenge in the Scottish top-flight.
At 24, he’s still got his best years ahead of him and Celtic should look at the Peterborough star as the ideal candidate to take over the goalscoring duties from Edouard in the foreseeable future.