Arsenal prospect Jon Toral joined Birmingham on loan for the season this summer, and much like other loanees of the north London side, he has already endeared himself to the manager. Birmingham City manager, Gary Rowett, has recently praised Toral’s instincts in front of goal, saying: “I was pleased with Jon, he has an instinct to get into those positions.
“When he gets into goalscoring positions, he has got real composure.”
Since most teams cannot rely on just a striker for goals, a goalscoring midfielder like Toral is a valuable commodity, so as long as he keeps his current Championship form, he should be in the Arsenal first team picture before too long. He likely could replace the aging and often-injured Tomas Rosicky as a player of many role’s, to inject the team with energy and to be another attacking threat coming off the bench.
The 20-year-old has played more than 70 minutes in two matches and scored in both. He looks to be the answer to Birmingham’s previous goalscoring troubles, with Rowett going on to say: “That’s two in two league games now, and that’s why we brought him in.
“We felt we needed a little bit more of a threat in those front areas, in terms of our goal ratio.”
The Spaniard spent last season on loan to Brentford and scored six goals in 37 appearances. He will look to improve his goal tally for this campaign, and if his stellar start to the season is any indication, he will do certainly do that. Obviously, manager Gary Rowett is excited about Toral this season, as he said: “I am really pleased with the way he has started.”
If he can thrive this season in the Championship and create goals as well as score them, he could be the next U21 talent to break into the first team, following the man he came to Arsenal with from Barcelona, right-back Hector Bellerin. His compatriot’s meteoric rise was due to injuries within the squad, and if a vital midfielder gets hurt next season when Toral is back at the Emirates, look for him to step in and hopefully make a name for himself in the Premier League.
The fact Toral is getting regular first team senior football is crucial at this stage of his development, and he will reap the benefits of this year on loan for years to come.
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