Wigan Athletic will always view Peterborough and Brentford developments with some surprise: View | OneFootball

Premier League star Ivan Toney scored his first England goal on 26th March, as the Three Lions drew 2-2 with Belgium, courtesy of a 94th minute equaliser from former Birmingham City man Jude Bellingham.

Toney has earned a reputation as a dangerous top-flight striker for Brentford, after scoring 12 goals during the 2021/22 campaign, his first Premier League season with the Bees.

The ace would then go on to score an impressive 20 goals in 33 appearances during the 2022/23 campaign, as the West London outfit finished ninth in the table, just two points behind Aston Villa, who landed a Europa Conference League spot.

Prior to announcing himself on the Premier League stage, Toney produced a ridiculous tally of 31 Championship goals, during the 2020/21 season, as the Bees earned promotion to the top-flight by defeating Swansea City 2-0 in the 2021 play-off final.

The forward scored from the penalty spot on the 10-minute mark to put his side in the driving seat at Wembley, before a goal from Emiliano Marcondes sealed the deal for Thomas Frank's men and won them promotion to the Premier League.

Firing the Bees to promotion was a big achievement for Toney, who was plying his trade in the Championship for the first time, following his arrival from League One outfit Peterborough United.

His goal-scoring exploits with Posh were admirable, as he scored 24 goals in 32 appearances during the 2019/20 third-tier campaign, and 16 goals in 44 games during the 2018/19 League One season.

However, prior to his move to Posh, Toney was not quite the same prolific goalscorer, as demonstrated by his time with Wigan Athletic during the 2017/18 season.

Toney's spell with Latics

The striker joined the DW Stadium outfit ahead of the 2017/18 League One season, and the Latics may have had high hopes for the ace after he signed on loan from Premier League side Newcastle United.

However, he was unable to provide much of a goal-scoring threat during his time in Greater Manchester, netting just four goals in 24 third tier appearances.

But he did play a role in the Latics' unlikely run to the 2018 FA Cup quarter-finals, scoring two goals in four appearances, but he did not feature beyond the third round, as his then parent club Newcastle recalled him from loan in January 2018.

After returning to St James' Park, Toney joined Scunthorpe United until the end of the campaign, who he had played for in a previous loan spell during the 2016/17 season.

At Scunthorpe, the striker had a better goal-scoring record than that of his spell at the Latics, with eight goals in 18 League One outings during the second half of the 2017/18 season, and seven goals in 17 third tier appearances during 2016/17.

However, these figures were a far cry from the outstanding returns he has produced for Peterborough and Brentford over the years.

Latics will be surprised by Toney's exploits

The fact that Toney was somewhat of a flop during the 2017/18 campaign was not damaging for the Latics at the time, as the Greater Manchester side won the 2018 League One title, pipping local rivals Blackburn Rovers to the prize by just two points.

The lack of goals from Toney was not felt as Will Grigg bagged 19 goals in 43 league fixtures, firing his side to the Championship.

However, the Latics will always be surprised by the proven Premier League goalscorer, and England international Toney has become, as he did not show his prolific edge during a disappointing spell in the northwest.