Former West Ham United player Frank McAvennie has said that David Moyes made a mistake in not signing Ivan Toney for the Hammers when he had the chance.

The Lowdown: Moyes admits Toney chance

The 25-year-old has impressed so far for Brentford in the Premier League, scoring twice and providing two assists in his opening seven matches (Transfermarkt).

Prior to the Bees' 2-1 victory over West Ham recently, Moyes admitted that the Irons were interested in signing the striker when he was still at Peterborough (via football.london).

The Latest: McAvennie rues mistake

Speaking to West Ham Zone, McAvennie believes that the Hammers manager made a mistake in not capturing Toney's services. He said:

"Both my teams were looking at him, Celtic and West Ham.

"It’s one of those situations, there’s no future in the past.

"He made a mistake, I don’t think he’ll make many. He’s one of these guys that when something happens, he will learn from it."

The Verdict: Missed opportunity

Toney's star has enjoyed a meteoric rise since he made the move to Brentford. Prior to this season's impressive form, the £28.8m-valued ace broke the goalscoring record in Championship as Thomas Frank's side earned promotion to the top flight.  The £5m spent by the Bees (Sky Sports) now looks like an absolute bargain.

West Ham have a fantastic striker on their books at the moment in Michail Antonio, of course, who has already found the back of the net six times in all competitions this season. However, he is the only striker available to Moyes, meaning the Hammers are light up top. Toney would have be a wonderful alternative to, or indeed strike partner for, Antonio, but now we may never know.

In other news, Brighton have competition in the race to sign this forward