Brentford value Ivan Toney at £100m and fully intend to keep him at least until the end of the season.
The England international is on the radar of a number of top clubs across Europe and the Premier League, including Chelsea, while Arsenal are also reported to be keen.
He finishes his eight-month ban for betting offences on January 16 – in the middle of the next transfer window – and this has intensified speculation that he could leave for a bigger club.
But Sky Sports News understands it would take a monumental offer during those final 16 days of the window for Brentford to sell, and reports of a £50m-£60m fee have been met with derision in the club’s boardroom.
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Manager Thomas Frank stated in the summer he believed Toney to be worth £100m, and Brentford would have a sound argument for charging that figure, especially if Chelsea come calling.
Frank said: “£100m plus?… What would you pay for a striker that guarantees you 20-plus goals? And this is 20 goals for a mid-table club. What can he do in a bigger club?”
It would be hard to justify anything less for a proven Premier League goalscorer, who was third in the charts with 20 last term, after Chelsea were willing to part with more than £100m each for two midfielders in Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo.
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Brentford boss Thomas Frank admits the club could sell Ivan Toney for the ‘right price’ and says he’s expecting bids for the striker in January
Harry Kane, who scored 10 more than Toney, left Tottenham for Bayern Munich for more than £100m with just a year left on his contract, while Toney will still have 18 months left in January and is three years younger than Kane at 27.
Toney is also fully expected to be in the running for an England call-up to Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2024 squad, while there is not an abundance of English strikers available for sale, with Ollie Watkins’ new four-year contract effectively taking him off the market.
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Watch Ivan Toney score for Brentford in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Italian side Como as he begins his preparations to return to football after a lengthy ban for breaching betting rules
Then there is Toney’s value to Brentford and their season, and the need for his return with strikers Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbuemo set to leave for the Africa Cup of Nations in January.
Their temporary departures would leave Toney and Neal Maupay as the only recognised strikers, with Kevin Schade out with a long-term injury.
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Could Arsenal target Toney?
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The Mirror’s John Cross believes that Arsenal will be one of a number of Premier League clubs targeting Ivan Toney in the January transfer window
The West London club have stood firmly by Toney and his family since he admitted to 232 FA betting charges, putting everything in place for him to return and make an impact; setting up behind-closed-doors friendlies to maintain his sharpness and paying his contract in full.
Toney may wish to repay that faith by staying until next summer, while it remains to be seen whether Arsenal can muster the required cash to buy a striker in January. They currently have Brentford goalkeeper David Raya on loan with a view to a permanent transfer.
Chelsea are keen on Toney but he is among a number of options they are looking at for a new striker, having struggled for goals this term as Nicholas Jackson looks to adapt into a centre-forward and Armando Broja recovers from long-term injury.
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Clinton Morrison believes Ivan Toney would be the ideal signing for Arsenal in the January transfer window
Brentford’s ability to adapt in Toney’s absence has been impressive, meanwhile, with Frank overseeing a smash-and-grab win at Stamford Bridge last Saturday that lifted them above Chelsea into 10th.
Mbuemo scored his eighth of the campaign in that game and has stepped up as more key players such as Rico Henry, Josh Dasilva, Keane Lewis-Potter, Schade and Shandon Baptiste have been sidelined with injuries.
Brentford are excited by the prospect of what they can achieve this term when all these players return; chief among them Toney, who may yet fire them to another top-half finish in the Premier League.
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