Chelsea are reportedly doing more groundwork than their rivals on the potential transfer of Brentford striker Ivan Toney.
The England international is currently serving a temporary ban from playing football, but it seems Chelsea are big admirers of his and keen to ensure they’re at the front of the queue for his signature once he’s available again.
According to Simon Phillips, Chelsea are ahead of their rivals in terms of the groundwork they’ve done on convincing Toney to join, so Blues fans will surely be feeling optimistic about this potential deal.
Toney has been hugely impressive in his time with Brentford and it’s easy to imagine him making the step up to playing for a club like Chelsea.
It’s not been the easiest year for the west London giants, but Toney could be an important signing to give Mauricio Pochettino more quality in front of goal.
The 27-year-old looks like an ideal upgrade on relatively unproven youngsters like Nicolas Jackson and Armando Broja, while it remains to be seen precisely what role Christopher Nkunku will play once he’s back from injury.