Ivan Toney: Clever Arsenal signing plan scuppered after Turkish outfit refuse to play ball
Ollie Watkins marks Ivan Toney during Aston Villa vs Brentford
It has been revealed that Arsenal wanted to sign Brentford striker Ivan Toney and then loan him abroad for a year at Turkish club Fenerbahce.
The England forward is currently serving an eight-month ban after being found guilty of 232 breaches of the Football Association’s betting rules.
Toney‘s remarkable rise to prominence with the Bees has seen the 27-year-old become one of the Premier League’s most lethal strikers.
He has notched 68 goals in 124 games for Thomas Frank’s men since signing from Peterborough for an eventual fee of £15million in 2020.
And, despite his ban, a number of clubs have been linked with a move for Toney – including the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea.
Of the three clubs named, the Gunners are the least in need of signing another No.9 but Mikel Arteta is known to be a big fan of Toney and wants to strike a deal.
That claim has been backed by Turkish outlet Fotospor, who state the Turkish side’s president said he refused the offer from the Gunners as he didn’t want anyone involved in alleged ‘match-fixing’.
Arsenal‘s plan would have been to sign the frontman and then send him to Turkey temporarily, but Fenerbahce were having none of it.
“No one involved in match-fixing can enter this team,” Kocis reported to have said on the matter.
The report is an odd one, given that it was reported back in May that Toney’s ban had been enforced worldwide.
That would have meant that loaning Toney out to Turkey would have been pointless as he would have been unable to get his match fitness up.
Arsenal is still expected to be one of the main suitors for the striker, however, when he becomes available again in mid-January.
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