Chelsea are currently favourites ahead of Manchester United and Tottenham to sign Brentford forward Ivan Toney in the winter transfer window, according to LondonWorld.
The online news portal claims that moves are already being made behind the scenes to get the deal wrapped up for Toney in January. Mauricio Pochettino is believed to be behind the Blues’ push for the striker as he considers Toney an ideal fit for the club.
The West Londoners brought in Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku in the summer to solve their goalscoring issues but injury to the latter has seen the club struggle in front of goal this season.
Jackson has scored once while fellow forward Raheem Sterling, who finished last season as the club’s top goal scorer, has banged in two goals in four games.
Academy graduate Armando Broja is yet to make an appearance for Pochettino’s side due to injury, however, the former PSG manager believes Broja will come good once he gets consistent games under his belt.
Big move
According to London World, Toney has changed agents in order to secure a big money move and they are pushing for a transfer with Chelsea, Man Utd, and Tottenham all interested.
United are still in the market for a top class striker despite signing Rasmus Hojlund in the summer and Toney has emerged as a serious target, however, the report says it’s Chelsea who are leading the race for his signature.
Football London claimed recently that Brentford are willing to accept a £70m offer for Toney and big spending Chelsea have shown they are prepared to pay whatever it takes to land their targets.
The 27-year-old is serving an eight-month ban for breaking Football Association betting rules, including betting against his own team, and will return to first-team action at the end of January 16, 2024.
He can, however, commence training this month as he keeps himself fit for his return to football. The highly-rated goal poacher has scored 68 goals and recorded 21 assists in 124 games for the Bees across all competitions.
Toney netted 21 goals and registered five assists in 35 matches last term and would certainly be an excellent signing for Chelsea if they could get a deal agreed.
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