Arsenal have reportedly been handed a huge boost in the pursuit of Brentford striker Ivan Toney, with Chelsea leaving the picture to land his services in January.
CaughtOffside has offered an intriguing update in the race for Brentford hitman Ivan Toney, with Chelsea dropping out of the race and Arsenal now placing themselves at the front of the queue for a possible January move.
Toney is currently out of action as a result of a betting ban, but he is back in training for Brentford before he is free to return at the start of January. His season was cut short in 2022/23 as a result of this ban, but he still managed to net 20 goals in 33 Premier League appearances to finish as the competition’s third-best goal scorer, behind only Erling Haaland and Harry Kane.
The forward was one of the best strikers in the English top flight last season, and he may have already played his last game for Brentford as he is garnering interest from several clubs. Chelsea and Arsenal are believed to be the two frontrunners for the Brentford talisman, but there are others, such as Tottenham and Manchester United, interested in the 27-year-old.
Last week, Football Insider reported the Blues are really keen to land Toney and have a big advantage over Arsenal in the race, insisting the Gunners are not keen to break the bank for Toney in 2024, something Chelsea have no problem doing, as shown in recent times.
Embed from Getty Images
However, CaughtOffside have now provided a fresh update on Toney, which will come as music to the ears of Arsenal supporters. The report adds that the player’s representatives have been in “constant contact” with both Arsenal and Chelsea, with Toney seeing January as the perfect time to make the step up in his career and join a big-hitting club.
Although Chelsea are big admirers of Toney’s talent, they have cooled their interest recently and are no longer in the running to sign him. Instead, Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino wants his side to go all out for Victor Osimhen after deciding on the Napoli star as his priority target. A deal for the Nigerian hitman will be trickier than for Toney, and he may have to wait until next summer.
Chelsea’s stance has handed Arsenal a fantastic opportunity to bolster their forward line with the signing of Toney once the transfer window reopens. The Gunners continue to sweat over Gabriel Jesus’ niggling injury concerns, while Eddie Nketiah has failed to perform on a consistent basis.
It has previously been suggested that Brentford will hold out for an astronomical sum when rival clubs enter negotiations for Toney, potentially in the region of £80–100 million. However, the above report claims the fee could actually be substantially less.
The Bees instead have a “realistic expectation” that they will get nearer £55 million, while Arsenal hope to negotiate an even lower price. Signing Toney has the potential to give Arsenal a major spark as they look to improve on last season’s league title success.
