Newcastle smashed their transfer record this summer by spending £63m on Real Sociedad striker Alexander Isak but that deal might not have been necessary had they kept hold of Ivan Toney.

The English forward signed from Northampton Town in a deal worth £500k in 2015 but would make just four appearances for the club in the Premier League in the 2015/16 season.

He would go on to enjoy prosperous loan spells at Barnsley, Shrewsbury Town, Wigan Athletic and Scunthorpe United before he finally departed on a permanent deal in 2018, with Peterborough United signing him for £500k, meaning they did at least break even.

His time with the Posh was a huge success, as he contributed 49 goals and 16 assists in just 94 appearances, before earning a £5m move to Brentford in the summer of 2020.

He has gone from strength to strength in his time with Thomas Frank's side, hitting 31 goals in the Championship en route to promotion in his first season, while he managed 12 goals and five assists in his debut Premier League campaign last season.

Toney has started the new season in exceptional form, hitting a hat-trick against Leeds United last weekend to take his tally to five goals in the opening six matches, which suggests that had Newcastle kept faith in him and given him more opportunities, they could have had a top Premier League striker of their own.

Following that three-goal triumph against Jesse Marsch's side, Newcastle legend Alan Shearer was full of praise for the Brentford talisman on Match of the Day, describing him as "magnificent" and suggesting that an England call-up could soon be on the cards.

Indeed, the Toon hero continued: "Really really impressive. Horrible to play against. Nasty in a good way which you have to be. Defenders know they've been in a game when they've come up against him."

Danny Murphy then hailed him as a "unique" talent, citing his phenomenal set-pieces after he scored a quite wonderful free-kick against Leeds.

While it is impossible to predict the trajectory of a player's career, Toney's impressive loan spells suggest that he should never have been sold by Newcastle and they should have given him more opportunities.

Considering Brentford reportedly demanded £50m for his services this summer, the decision to sell him for just £500k in 2018 must go down as a huge mistake by Newcastle United. Had they kept him in their ranks, there may well have been no need for Isak or even Chris Wood back in January.