Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal poised for bidding war as manager admits £70m Prem striker is for sale
Brentford manager Thomas Frank celebrates with Ivan Toney
Brentford manager Thomas Frank has admitted that he is willing to part ways with in-demand striker Ivan Toney ‘if the right price is there.’
The England international is currently serving an eight-month suspension from football after being found guilty of breaching betting rules – he will return in mid-January.
Despite this, a number of top clubs have registered an interest in signing Toney. As previously reported by TEAMtalk, Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal all hold an interest in the forward, so we could potentially see a bidding war take place for him.
That is no real surprise, either, given his Premier League performances last season. Toney netted 20 goals in 33 league appearances for Brentford last term, trailing only Erling Haaland (36) and Harry Kane (30) in the scoring charts.
With that in mind, the 27-year-old has the potential to be a top signing for one of the Premier League trio. Toney has recently changed agents, too, which suggests he is looking to join a new club. Brentford certainly will not let him go on the cheap, though.
It will be interesting to see if one of the interested clubs make a concrete move for Toney when the transfer window re-opens in January.
Frank: Toney will be ‘very expensive’
Toney’s suitors have received a boost from Frank, as he admitted on Monday that he is willing to sell the Brentford forward. He said that he could be ‘very expensive,’ though.
“I think every club in the world is a selling club apart from five or six clubs. We are a selling club if the right price is there,” Frank admitted on Monday Night Football. “I think it’s the right timing for the player to go, that is not my decision in the end.
“If they build well with us on this journey, and now prove they are good enough to go to the top clubs, but for the right price.
“Yes, it does apply to him too (Toney), I understand why there are a lot of rumours out there, for me, as a striker and a number nine, I don’t see many others better than him in the world.
“You have [Harry] Kane, Robert [Lewandowski], and [Erling] Haaland, but not many scored 20 goals in the Premier League for a very good Brentford side of course, we are not creating as many chances as the top six teams, so imagine him in a top team, he would easily score 20/25 goals.
“I think he’s composed, a good mentality, a good finisher so I can see why clubs are looking at him. But, he’s a Brentford player, and if other clubs want to come, in today’s market, the prices for number six players, we know that attacking players are the most expensive ones so I guess that will be very expensive.”
Previous reports suggest that a bid of £70m would be enough to convince Brentford to sell Toney, so it will be interesting to see if Chelsea, Tottenham or Arsenal match that fee.
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