West Ham United are now reportedly leading the race to sign Chelsea target Ivan Toney.
There has been a major development in the race for Ivan Toney, with West Ham United reportedly the favourites despite interest from Chelsea, according to Football Insider.
The report claims that the Irons want “to finally address their lack of depth up front and view Toney as their top target,” and now David Moyes’ side are in a “pole position” to land the “statement” transfer from Brentford.
Pete O’Rourke, Football Insider transfer correspondent, believes there is a “good chance” West Ham would sign the England international ahead of Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea, and other teams.
O’Rourke told the Inside Track podcast: “There’s now a good chance that Ivan Toney could end up at West Ham. It would be a statement signing.
“We know they have been lacking a number nine for a couple of seasons now.
“There’s a lot of talk about Arsenal being interested in Toney but my understanding is that that their interest has cooled and they’re looking at other targets.”
Toney established himself as one of the Premier League’s top centre-forwards last season, netting 20 goals in 33 Premier League games. His hopes of making a huge move last summer have been postponed by an eight-month betting restriction that extended from May 2023 to January 2024.
Since returning from his ban for Brentford, Toney has managed four goals and one assist in 11 games.
The 28-year-old England International was among the Brentford players who struck the woodwork during Saturday night’s 1-1 home draw with Manchester United. However, the England star did manage to record his first assist of the season.
There has been a lot of speculation about Toney’s future in recent weeks, with Arsenal cooling their interest and allowing other clubs to take centre stage in the transfer pursuit.
West Ham to beat Chelsea in Ivan Toney race
The striker role at the London Stadium has been an issue all season for David Moyes, as Michail Antonio has had consistent form and injury problems, Danny Ings is not getting any younger or better, and the West Ham boss doesn’t trust young Divin Mubama to lead the line just yet.
The Hammers believe there is an opportunity for them to snap up Toney due to Chelsea’s financial issues. The Blues must be cautious of PSR rules after recording a £90 million loss in their 2022/23 financial records that were published earlier this week.
Chelsea will do everything they can to ensure they remain compliant, even if that means missing out on top striker target Toney.
Given the size of clubs’ such as Manchester United and Chelsea, as well as their superior spending power, West Ham landing Toney first would be a very impressive feat if they can get it over the line in the summer.
