Ivan Toney: England man picks Liverpool star who's 'too nice' in dream 5-a-side team

Brentford’s Ivan Toney was named in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the very first time on Thursday.

The former Peterborough and Newcastle United striker has been one of the Premier League’s form players so far in 2022/23 and is more than worthy of international selection.

Over on WhoScored, Toney is the highest-rated English footballer in Europe for the season after scoring five goals and assisting a further three in eight appearances.

The 26-year-old recently scored a magnificent hat-trick in Brentford’s 5-2 home victory over Leeds United, a performance which likely swayed Southgate into picking him for England duty.

Toney will be given opportunities to impress in UEFA Nations League matches against Italy and Germany during the course of the international break.

If he grabs a goal or two, a role at the 2022 World Cup as one of Harry Kane’s understudies surely awaits him.

In the days before he received a phone call from Southgate, Toney sat down with InchByInch at Brentford’s training ground and selected his dream five-a-side team, made up of Premier League players past or present.

His teammate Frank Onyeka was a surprise selection in midfield, with Manchester City‘s Kevin De Bruyne getting the nod over the likes of Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Paul Scholes.

The Belgian’s club colleague Ederson was named as the goalkeeper by Toney, with City legend Sergio Aguero leading the line. So yes, no Thierry Henry, Alan Shearer or Cristiano Ronaldo.

And as his one defender in the five-a-side team, the Brentford forward picked Liverpool‘s Virgil van Dijk, although that still didn’t stop him from labelling the Dutch colossus as “too nice”.

On whether he feared Van Dijk as a footballer, Toney said: “Nah, I don’t think,