Arsenal and Chelsea are set to do battle over the signing of Ivan Toney after Brentford manager Thomas Frank admitted the striker can leave at the right price, according to reports.
Toney scored 21 goals and registered five assists in 35 matches last season. He has racked up 124 appearances for the Bees, netted 68 times, and recorded 21 assists across all competitions since joining the club from Peterborough United in 2020.
He is currently serving an eight-month ban for breaking Football Association betting rules, including betting against his own team, and will return to action on January 16, 2024.
The highly-rated goalscorer can resume training this month as he works his way back to full fitness after several months without football.
Speculation is growing that Toney will leave Brentford in January and manager Thomas Frank has admitted they will sell if the price is right.
Frank is quoted by 90min as saying:
“I think every club in the world are a selling club except five or six clubs. We are a selling club. If the right price is there and I think if the timing is right for the players to go, I think if they have developed well with us and been on the journey, they have proven to be good enough to play at the top clubs, then I think it’s the right thing [to sell them] at the right price.
“Yes [this applies to Toney], I understand why there are a lot of rumours about him. For me, I think he is one of the best strikers. As a number nine, I don’t see many in the world that are better than him. You have [Harry] Kane, [Robert] Lewandowski, these types, but not many.
Battle
The situation has alerted rival Premier League clubs and the Mirror claims that Arsenal are ready to do-battle with Chelsea over a deal to sign Toney during the January transfer window.
The newspaper says Arsenal would have bid for the striker in the summer if he wasn’t banned as the decision makers at the Emirates Stadium are huge fans of the England international.
The Gunners are expected to formalise their interest this winter but will face stiff competition with the Mirror claiming that Chelsea are also showing a keen interest in Toney while Tottenham are also likely to be in the running for his signature.
Chelsea desperately need a top goalscorer as they’ve struggled to find the back of the net for well over a year and Toney has been widely touted as one of Mauricio Pochettino’s prime targets.
Toney will have just 18 months left on his contract in January and the newspaper suggests Brentford will want at least £60m to sell their star man.
Read more: Report: Chelsea showing ‘strong interest’ in signing £129m world-class star
