Arsenal take steps to sign Ivan Toney but Man Utd also keen

Arsenal have ‘taken first steps’ to sign Ivan Toney but Manchester United are also keeping tabs on the Brentford striker, as per Rudy Galetti.

According to the journalist, Arsenal are keen on the 27-year-old striker and appear to have stolen a march on their rivals after making the first move to get a deal in place.

However, the Gunners still face competition and Galetti claims that Manchester United are also monitoring Toney’s situation so they could challenge Arsenal for his signature over the coming weeks.

Toney is currently suspended following a breach of FA’s gambling regulations. The striker will return to action midway through January and he could be a key player for clubs like Arsenal or Manchester United during the second half of the campaign if he leaves Brentford next month.

The Red Devils need to sign a proven goalscorer in order to ease the goal-scoring burden on Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund. Rashford has not been at his best this season and Hojlund is still getting to grips with the Premier League.

Toney has scored 35 goals with Brentford in the Premier League over the course of the last two seasons and he is a proven performer in the English top flight. He could transform Manchester United going forward and help them finish the season strongly.

The Red Devils have had a mediocre campaign by their standards so far and they are currently 6^th in the league table. They will need quality signings in January in order to finish in the Champions League positions and someone like Toney could galvanize the whole squad.

Ivan Toney could cost £100m

The opportunity to join one of the biggest clubs in the country would be an attractive proposition for the player but it remains to be seen whether Manchester United formalise their interest.

As it stands, it looks like Arsenal are in pole position to sign Toney, although any deal won’t come cheap as Brentford reportedly valued the striker at around £100 million.

Arsenal certainly have the finances and the pull to get the deal done, and many feel Toney could be the man to bring the title back to North London if he was to move to the Emirates this winter.

Arsenal need to sign a prolific goalscorer to make up for Gabriel Jesus’ lack of goals and Toney would be the ideal acquisition for them.

It certainly going to be interesting to see where Toney ends up if he does leave Brentford in January, but he’d be a terrific signing for either Arsenal or United if one of those clubs could get a deal done.