An update has emerged on Newcastle United and their chances of signing Ivan Toney in the summer transfer window... 

What's the talk?

According to iNews, Brentford will not consider any bids lower than £40m for the English centre-forward ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

The report claims that a number of teams, including the Magpies, have been linked with him but no official offers have been made as of yet.

It remains to be seen whether or not Dan Ashworth is willing to spend in excess of £40m to land the attacker in the coming weeks.

Eddie Howe's own Louis Saha

If the ex-Brighton chief does bring Toney to St. James' Park this summer then he could be signing Eddie Howe his own version of former Toon man Louis Saha.

Journalist Rob Blanchette, in discussing a potential Manchester United move for the striker, compared him to the retired Frenchman. He Tweeted: "Louis Saha is a great comparison to Ivan Toney: blooded in the Championship, bought by Sir Alex to provide a different type of MUFC No. 9 skill set, both players underrated with their feet & intelligence. Unfashionable targets but can do a great job."

The 42-year-old played 12 games on loan at Newcastle early on in his career before eventually making his mark in England with Fulham - scoring 27 goals in one First Division (Championship) season and 26 Premier League goals in two-and-a-half campaigns for the Cottagers.

He then spent time at Manchester United and Everton in the top flight before the end of his career and Newcastle can now find a similar player in Toney.

The Brentford man, like Saha, made his mark in the Championship with 31 goals in 45 matches. He then made the step up to the Premier League with an impressive 12 goals and five assists in 33 outings for the newly-promoted side.

Toney has proven that he has the quality to make a big impact at the top end of the pitch as a traditional number nine, like Saha did throughout his career in England. They are both strikers who demolished the second tier and have been able to score goals consistently in the top flight.

The Frenchman only scored twice during his loan spell at St. James' Park but the Brentford predator's statistics suggest that he would notch far more than that if he is made the main man up top for Howe next season.

AND in other news, "Electrifying" £60m wizard is "open" to Newcastle transfer, just imagine him & Wilson...