Hi-Vis Premier League Nike Flight winter match ball. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)Hi-Vis Premier League Nike Flight winter match ball. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Hi-Vis Premier League Nike Flight winter match ball. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

Newcastle United transfer rumours: Magpies plot January raid for Tottenham international, Toon in 'pole position' to land midfielder

Ivan Toney has opened up on his Newcastle United departure – after making a goalscoring return to St James’s Park.

Toney scored for Brentford in yesterday’s 3-3 draw. The 25-year-old was booed by home fans after kissing the badge on his shirt in celebration.

Asked if the strike meant a lot to him, Toney said: “Yeah, 100%. Obviously, on a personal level, it meant a lot. There’s no hard feelings against the club. They hold a place in my heart, and I wish them all the best throughout the season.”

Toney also insisted that he didn’t have a “point to prove” to the club, which sold him to Peterborough United in 2018.

“Not really,” said Toney, who joined Brentford last year. “I feel like it’s a point to prove every game I play. Today was just go out and enjoy it.

"Obviously, whatever happened in the past, maybe I wasn’t ready, maybe wasn’t good enough, who knows. At the time, the club had a decision to make, and the decision was to let me go.

"There’s no hard feelings. The club holds a special place in my heart, I’m sure it will forever, because without the stepping stone of being at Newcastle, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

Toney, left unmarked, beat former United team-mate Karl Darlow with a low shot to cancel out Jamaal Lascelles’ opening goal.

“You know the basics, hit it low and hard, and I did that,” Toney told Brentford’s official website. “We checked out what the keeper’s best attributes are before the game, so basically just hit it low and hard, and you’ve got every chance.”

Meanwhile, Brentford head coach Thomas Frank left Tyneside frustrated that his team didn’t take all three points.

Frank said: “When you’re leading twice, it’s a little bit frustrating that you don’t get three points. That’s the frustration.

“When you score three goals in a Premier League game – home or away, or in any game across the world – you need to be able to get three points. (It’s) very positive scoring three goals, very positive that we created a lot of dangerous situations and chances to have scored more.

“The big thing we need to improve from this game is we need to defend better.”