Former Glasgow Rangers and Scotland boss Alex McLeish has backed Charlie Wyke to be the next Ivan Toney if he moves to Celtic from Sunderland this summer, during a recent interview with Football Insider.

Speculation over Wyke's future in the North East has been rife for quite some time now, with the same publication recently revealing that Celtic have put a contract offer to the striker as they look to snare him away from the Stadium of Light.

Wyke's current contract with Sunderland expires at the end of this month, which means he will be able to leave for completely nothing if a new agreement isn't reached with the Sky Bet League One side.

Speaking recently on the subject of Celtic's reported interest in the player, McLeish was quick to make a comparison between Wyke and Brentford's Toney as he stated the following:

"On paper it’s a good one because Celtic were linked with (Ivan) Toney a couple of years ago from Peterborough, they didn’t get him, and look what he’s doing now.

"That was one they missed and if Wyke can get anywhere near Toney’s level, he’d be a good signing also and could be the next Toney."

Wyke notched up an impressive 26 league goals last season for the Black Cats as the club once again missed out on promotion to the Championship and has been linked with several sides in recent months.

The Verdict 

In my opinion, the Scottish Premiership is probably on par with the level that League One is at in terms of quality, so I could definitely see Wyke being a success at Celtic.

I think Sunderland are slowly coming to the realisation that the striker doesn't want to stay put, as realistically speaking, he is unlikely to turn down a bigger club in the shape of the Hoops.

The Black Cats could well be set to lose the best part of 26 goals if Wyke departs and it will be absolutely vital that they replace him adequately.

Lee Johnson's ability to work the transfer market to Sunderland's advantage will certainly be put to the test if the striker does indeed head north of the border.