Manchester United are reportedly locked in a battle with West Ham United and Newcastle United in the race to sign Brentford striker Ivan Toney.
According to Daily Mirror, Manchester United are keeping a close eye on Christian Eriksen’s former teammate Ivan Toney as a potential replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo or Anthony Martial. But the Red Devils will have to battle fellow Premier League clubs, including West Ham United and Newcastle United, for the Englishman’s signature.
Toney, who is open to leaving the west London outfit this summer, has enjoyed a successful stint at Brentford since joining them from Peterborough United in 2020. To date, he has scored 47 goals in 89 appearances and was instrumental in the Bees’ promotion to the Premier League in 2021, as well as helping them to retain their top-flight status last term.
He handled the transition to the Premier League with ease and was hugely impressive, netting 12 goals and adding a further five assists from 33 top-flight outings. The 26-year-old impressed the onlookers with his physicality, turn of pace, clever movement, and excellent all-round play last term and could be set for a high-profile move this summer.
Despite the fact that he has a contract through 2025 at the Brentford Community Stadium, his long-term future is currently up for debate. While Thomas Frank would be highly reluctant to lose another key figure after seeing Christian Eriksen join Manchester United, the Brentford hierarchy are bracing themselves to receive at least one bid for Toney before the window slams shut.
Needless to say, the Brentford striker has been on the radars of multiple rival Premier League clubs this summer, with West Ham United and Newcastle United both keen on acquiring his services. Meanwhile, Manchester United have also been keeping a close track of Toney’s situation as they view him as a potential target in case either Ronaldo or Martial leave in the coming weeks.
At the start of the summer transfer window, Darwin Nunez was Manchester United’s main striker target, but he went to archrivals Liverpool instead. Manchester United have subsequently concentrated on bolstering other areas of the squad, although they may return to address their necessity to sign a striker in the latter stages of the window.
Toney is the complete package at centre-forward with his well-rounded attributes and has shown signs he can be a top-level performer. Moreover, his output skyrocketed in the final phase of the 2021/22 season as a result of Eriksen’s creative presence, so Manchester United could do worse than reuniting him with the Danish playmaker.
Newcastle United are also considering re-signing Toney, who spent three years with the Magpies before leaving permanently in 2018. Eddie Howe is looking for low-cost alternatives to add more firepower to his attack after abandoning the pursuits of Moussa Diaby and Alexander Isak due to exorbitant price tags.
West Ham, meanwhile, have lodged a €35 million bid for top target and Chelsea prodigy Armando Broja. But with Thomas Tuchel ruling out a potential sale for the Albanian striker, the Hammers might have to realign their radars elsewhere, making Toney a viable and more experienced alternative.
