Peterborough United’s Darren Ferguson believes Ivan Toney can be as successful as any striker he’s ever managed

And that’s some compliment considering Posh boss Ferguson also nurtured the careers of Aaron Mclean, Craig Mackail-Smith, Dwight Gayle and Britt Assombalonga during his two previous spells at London Road.

He believes Toney (23) has a chance of enjoying even better careers than those Posh stars as long as he continues to progress.

“Ivan is a different to all the other top strikers I have managed because he can play well as a target man,” Ferguson stated.

“Obviously there is far more to his game than that, but that physicality and strength when you can also play so well technically is a real bonus.

“I would put him right up there with the likes of Aaron, Britt and Dwight as the best strikers I’ve managed and only time will tell whether or not he enjoys careers as good as those. He certainly has a chance.

“Ivan is still young. He will improve further and I am just delighted we have him here as he is undoubtedly the best all-round player in League One.

“He scores all sorts of goals. He scores with either foot from all sorts of distances and he scores with his head.

“But he also has a great touch and good feet. He passes the ball well and he’s good at set-pieces at both ends of the pitch.

“I’m lucky to have managed so many top strikers, but I didn’t foresee Ivan becoming this good so quickly when I walked through the door 14 months ago.

“I was aware of him obviously, but he hadn’t exactly just burst on the scene, He’d been around for a few years and been on loan at several clubs.

“The talent has obviously always been there, but the biggest difference for me this season has been his aggression.

“Last season I felt he needed to be riled to become aggressive, but this season he’s just gone out there and played hard from the first game.

“He’s too much for League One defenders to handle.”