Arsenal transfers: Sensational striker move explodes into life as Arteta offers up 138-game regular in part-exchange
Eddie Nketiah could be used in exchange for Ivan Toney
Arsenal are hoping they can come up trumps in the three-way race to sign Ivan Toney after reportedly offering Brentford the chance to sign a Gunners regular as part of a potential swap deal.
The Bees striker will have just 17 months left on his contract with Thomas Frank’s side when he returns to action following a lengthy ban in January. Toney, forced to sit out eight months of action, has been a huge miss for the Bees after the FA handed down a stern punishment after he was charged with 232 counts of breaching betting regulations.
However, there remains doubts over how long Toney will have left in a Brentford shirt with Frank admitting they will be open to offers for his services in 2024.
Indeed, with his deal due to expire in summer 2025, Frank knows the time to sell their prized asset will either come in January or the summer with Brentford unable to afford the risk of losing the one-time capped England man on a free transfer.
As a result, the player has been strongly linked with moves across London with all of Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal all eyeing up moves.
However, it is Arsenal who are emerging as the favourites with Toney himself admitting he would be keen to explore either a move to Emirates Stadium or one of the Premier League’s north-west giants.
But it is the Gunners seemingly who lead the way, with Mikel Arteta recently admitting his side need to be more clinical in front of goal and pushing hard to get a deal done.
The move has also been given a big seal of approval from pundit Paul Merson, who has explained why Toney is a perfect fit.
READ MORE: Arteta in dreamland as Arsenal push towards explosive January deal for 160-goal Prem star
Arsenal to offer Eddie Nketiah to Brentford for Ivan Toney
With demand for the 27-year-old striker set to reach fever-pitch in January, Brentford are reportedly looking to fetch as much as £75m for the attacker, who boasts 160 career goals to date.
And while Arsenal are reportedly willing to meet that fee, a new report in the Daily Mirror claims Arsenal are now ready to offer Eddie Nketiah in part exchange to help reduce their initial outlay.
The Bees will need a new frontline striker to come in and step into Toney’s shoes and Arsenal reportedly hope the move could be of interest to all parties.
Nketiah, who was recently called into Gareth Southgate’s England squad, has made 138 appearances for Arsenal since making his debut back in the 2017/18 season.
However, while recently earning more chances under Arteta, he has never really been considered a regular, often filling in when injuries or suspensions have caught hold at Arsenal.
To that end, he may well feel a move away could earn him a more regular chance of being the main man; with Toney also potentially arriving it could push him even further down the pecking order with Gabriel Jesus also vying for a regular shirt.
Frank and Brentford are already scouring the globe for potential options to replace Toney. Indeed, Tuesday’s Euro Paper Talk contained details of Bees interest in Wolfsburg’s Jonas Wind, AZ Alkmaar’s Vangelis Pavlidis and Santos’ Marcos Leonardo.
However, the chance to sign Nketiah as part of the deal could provide the perfect solution.
The 24-year-old star is contracted to Arsenal until summer 2027, having only signed an extension to his arrangement last summer. The former Leeds loanee has 40 career goals from 158 appearances in total.
