Piers Morgan leads calls for Ivan Toney to START against Netherlands

Piers Morgan has called for Ivan Toney to start England's Euro 2024 semi-final against the Netherlands on Wednesday after footage emerged of the striker scoring a stunning volley in training.

Toney has only made two substitute appearances in Germany this summer, but has made a big impact on both occasions, registering an assist against Slovakia before scoring a 'no-look' penalty in England's shootout win over Switzerland on Saturday.

The Brentford forward has looked full of confidence during matches, and he also appears to be at the top of his game in training. England's official X account posted a clip on Tuesday morning of him latching onto a clipped ball from goalkeeper Jordan Pickford before firing an unstoppable volley past Aaron Ramsdale.

The ball flew into the net and was so good that he even got a congratulatory pat on the leg from Joe Gomez. The Liverpool defender was not the only one impressed, as Morgan insisted the in-form Toney deserves to start against the Dutch, and even urged Arsenal to sign him this summer.

'What a finish… Toney should start on Wednesday... (and Arsenal should sign him!),' the Gunners super-fan wrote on X.

Other fans were in agreement, with one adding: 'Toney should be starting tomorrow'.

If Toney does get the nod, this would likely mean that captain Harry Kane would miss out after an underwhelming tournament so far.

Kane has scored twice in England's five matches, but has looked off the pace at times and there have been calls for him to be dropped.

Gareth Southgate benching his talisman would be a huge decision, but one supporter feels Toney is more than capable of stepping up to the plate.

'Start my man. He’s ready,' they said.

The clamour for Toney to start is only growing as the semi-final draws nearer, but some fans were simply in awe of his goal rather than focusing on whether he should play on Wednesday or not.

'Nah Toney that is OUTRAGEOUS,' one fan posted.

Another simply wrote: 'What a strike that is'.

Toney has taken centre stage since his penalty against Switzerland on the weekend, where he refused to take his eyes off goalkeeper Yann Sommer before slotting his effort into the bottom corner.

He reminded fans afterwards that it is something he has always done when taking penalties, but it was still a surreal moment to see him pull it off under huge pressure.

England posted footage of Toney on Monday that showed him trying a number of other activities without looking, including playing Connect 4 and darts.

He has been branded the 'coolest man on the planet' by fans following Saturday's heroics, and has now left Southgate with a tough decision to make on who should start up front for England as they bid to make their second Euros final in a row.