Brentford technical director Phil Giles has confirmed that there have been no approaches for their 27-year-old striker Ivan Toney.
Ivan Toney is currently serving a ban but he is still the talk of the town. The 27-year-old has been linked with a move away from Brentford in the upcoming transfer window. Chelsea and Arsenal are both interested in his services but Brentford technical director Phil Giles insists that no club has made any approach for the England international so far.
Phil Giles said on BBC Radio 5 Live via 90min: “I’ve never had one phone call in three-and-a-half years about Ivan Toney, in terms of interest in buying him,”
“My job is really easy because I get on with the day-to-day. I have a lot to do and spend less time worrying about Ivan’s situation than others. With Thomas [Frank], it’s [the case of] getting him ready, getting him fit, getting him some practice games in, and then the expectation is he’ll come back in the team.
“If my phone rings between now and then, I’ll see what’s happening. But I’m really not focused on that at all.”
Toney has gone from strength to strength since joining Brentford in the summer of 2020. He was in sensational form last season. The 27-year-old contributed with 20 goals and four assists in his 33 Premier League outings.
His performances resulted in a lot of interest but things didn’t go in his favour as he received a long-term ban for being involved in illegal betting. The England international’s ban will end in the middle of January and he seems to have made it clear that he wants a move away from the club.
Toney is keen on joining a bigger club in the winter and Arsenal and Chelsea are both keen on having him in their ranks. Gabriel Jesus hasn’t scored enough goals of late and the Gunners feel they need a new world-class number nine to compete for major titles.
The Blues have also been linked with the England international for a while now. They have struggled in front of goal at times and signing a new number nine is one of their priorities. While both Chelsea and Arsenal are keen, they haven’t made any approaches for the 27-year-old yet as confirmed by Giles.
Brentford’s technical director is quite calm about the situation and he is not worried about the future of the 27-year-old. While he has made it clear that they haven’t had an approach yet, the club chief has left the door open for the possibility of a move.
If a club ends up knocking on the door of Brentford, they are expected to ask for a fee of £80 million. The fee is a touch on the higher side and it might end the possibility of a move in the winter. Meanwhile, the Bees are planning to offer him a new deal.
While the player is keen on parting ways, he is open to the idea of penning down a new deal if it includes a reasonable release clause to facilitate his next move.
