Ivan Toney wants to leave Brentford and remain in the Premier League.
That’s according to leading transfer expert and CaughtOffside columnist Fabrizio Romano, who has explained exactly what the near future could have in store for the Brentford striker.
Having enjoyed a fantastic rise and now known as one of the country’s most prolific forwards, Toney, 27, sparked speculation his time at the Community Stadium is coming to an end after he teamed up with leading agency CAA Stellar in August.
What is the latest Ivan Toney transfer news from Fabrizio Romano?
“There is a lot of interest since he joined CAA Stellar agency in the summer,” Romano said on Monday’s episode of the DeBrief podcast.
“The idea of the player is to move to an English top club. There was interest from many clubs already last year, especially from Italy, some important clubs wanted to consider the opportunity to go and sign Ivan Toney but now joining Stellar group it means the priority of the player is to stay in England and to stay in Premier League.”
And with several top sides on the lookout for a new centre forward, there are multiple links beginning to emerge. For example, all of the league’s top London-based clubs are believed to be interested in signing the 27-year-old and that is set to spark a bidding war.
“There is interest from Arsenal, for sure he is a player appreciated by people at the club so they consider Toney as an important striker but we have to see if Arsenal want to spend a big amount of money again after what they did in the summer on many players like Declan Rice and Kai Havertz,” Romano added.
“The same for Chelsea. We mention them for Victor Osimhen, but Ivan Toney is another striker they are following and monitoring because they will go for a striker in 2024 – let’s see if it’s going to be January or the summer.
“[…] We have to [also] see what Tottenham want to do. At the moment they are very happy with the squad but in case they go for a striker, Toney could be an opportunity.”
How much do Brentford want for Ivan Toney?
Going on to address the kind of transfer fee it is going to take to sign Toney, who is continuing to serve a betting-related ban, Romano feels a future deal for the Bees’ number 17 could see him become one of the Premier League’s top 10 most expensive forwards (TM).
“For Brentford, the price tag has to be something around £65 million,” the Italian transfer guru added.
“Not less than £65 million. They want more than this but the feeling of sources is that for £65 million a deal could be done.”
During his three years at Brentford, Toney, who has two years left on his deal, has scored 89 goals in 124 games in all competitions.
Soares, himself, may be tempted to stay put, knowing that he can leave on a free contract in six months’ time, and with hopes that he can be paid a healthy