David Moyes declared Declan Rice was worth more than £100m, and his West Ham side were the beneficiaries of a nine-figure sum when Arsenal swooped for his signature last summer. Ivan Toney is perhaps even more expensive to Brentford, though the England striker’s existing situation makes it difficult to envisage a high bidding war – something his manager has now said publicly.
Frank: One day it could be fun, Toney at a top team
- Planning for the inevitable? Frank told Danish news outlet Tipsbladet: “It’s quite obvious Ivan Toney will most likely be sold in the summer. It can be expensive to sell your best player, but I also know he’ll only have a year left on his contract with us – we also know what he’s worth – I don’t think there are many strikers in the world better right now.”
- Toney scored on his return against Nottingham Forest and also netted vs. Tottenham to finish January on a high, then played a big part in Neal Maupay’s goal in their 3-1 home defeat by Manchester City on Monday
- On what the future holds: “He’s a really good striker in his prime footballing age. Personally as a coach, I would prefer to keep Toney but one day it could be fun to see him at a top team. This winter, we actually had no bids but it would surprise me if there aren’t a lot of interested clubs.”
- As I covered back in December, the club’s technical director Lee Dykes alluded to the same though their bargaining power and asking price will be weakened by his contract situation
It should be no surprise, given the current landscape, no Premier League team was willing to part with figures in the region of £100m for a goalscoring forward recently back from an eight-month suspension for betting offences this past January.
However with 12 months left to run on his existing Brentford contract come the summer and with no intention to extend further, Bees boss Thomas Frank conceded Ivan Toney will depart for pastures new once the 2023-24 campaign is concluded.
Brentford have already drafted up reported targets tasked with replacing the England international, including a shrewd move for Club Brugge winger Antonio Nusa.
The highly-rated teenager, a full Norway international, was expected to sign and be loaned back to the Belgian side until season’s end after the two clubs agreed a club-record £25m fee last week – before the west London side spotted undisclosed complications during his medical checks and delayed until the summer.
It’s a decision that may backfire, seeing how they’ve been close to signing other players before being trumped by rival clubs – Mykhailo Mudryk at Shaktar Donetsk in the summer of 2022 before his £88m Chelsea move six months later, as well as PSV winger Johan Bakayoko – now deemed out of their price range.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has since reported Nusa’s been given the all-clear by Norwegian medical staff this week, so there’s no reason why that deal cannot be completed at a later date as the player has already formally agreed to sign.
While their creative struggles are obvious, Arsenal’s pursuit of a first domestic title since 2004-05 couldn’t be hinged on one signing – not when unpredictability has seen both injuries and dips in form for multiple players since mid-December.
FA Cup finalists Chelsea find themselves in much choppier waters under Mauricio Pochettino, struggling for form across all fronts and teetering uncomfortably in mid-table as the pressure of another managerial sacking looms large out West.
Those two London rivals are the main characters in the Toney sweepstakes, though a Harry Kane-less Tottenham and Liverpool as they make their first steps in the post-Jurgen Klopp era could conceivably join them as suitors come June.
Toney told Steven Bartlett on his podcast in August the Reds were his boyhood club growing up, while also having a strong fondness for Arsenal. Tottenham aren’t exactly title contenders yet, but themselves clearly building something under Ange Postecoglou and his arrival could help unlock new dimensions for others.
We’ll have to wait and see.
Picture source: Getty Images
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