Ivan Toney has "unfinished business" at Newcastle, according to Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie.

The £30m-valued striker spent three years with the Toon Army between 2015 and 2018 but made just a handful of appearances before he was sold under Rafael Benitez's guidance.

But ahead of the summer transfer window, Eddie Howe is interested in re-signing the Brentford man.

What's the latest news involving Toney?

According to the Telegraph, with Newcastle likely to end their interest in Benfica striker Darwin Nunez, the Magpies hierarchy have identified Toney as an alternative.

The report says that Newcastle deemed Toney not good enough for top-flight level when they sold him to League One Peterborough four years ago.

But since joining Brentford, the 26-year-old has been in fine goalscoring form, netting 31 goals in the Championship to help the Bees secure promotion, before scoring 12 times in the Premier League to help Thomas Frank's side challenge for a top half finish on their Premier League debut.

Therefore, the Magpies are hoping to bring him back to St James' Park, although he would cost them around £30m, which is around three times what Brentford paid for him back in 2020.

What did Downie say about Newcastle?

He told GIVEMESPORT: "He'll feel he's got unfinished business at Newcastle.

"He was there as a youngster, he was released by Rafa Benitez, never got an opportunity and it would be a step up in terms of the size of club that he's playing for."

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How did Toney fare in his first Newcastle spell?

After making two Premier League appearances for the Tyneside outfit, Toney's time as a Magpies player was extremely forgetful.

While he spent three years at the club, he was only part of the first-team squad for six months, playing a total of 41 minutes, the other two coming in the Carabao Cup.

As a result, Toney was continuously sent out on loan to the likes of Shrewsbury, Scunthorpe, and Barnsley, before Peterborough eventually took a punt on him when they paid Newcastle £650,000 ahead of the 2018-2019 campaign.

But some four years later it appears that a sensational return to St James' Park could well be on the cards for Toney.