An important offer will be required from Arsenal and other clubs to get Brentford to sell Ivan Toney, according to transfer news expert Fabrizio Romano.
The Gunners are one of the main names being linked with a possible move for Toney at the moment, with a striker surely needed at the Emirates Stadium in the second half of the season.
However, Romano, speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his latest column in the Daily Briefing, insists there haven’t really been any changes to Toney’s situation recently, while he also played down the idea of the England international leaving Brentford on loan.
Arsenal managed to sign goalkeeper David Raya on loan from Brentford in the summer, but Romano is not convinced we will see a similar deal here, with the journalist insisting that the Bees only want important money for their star striker this January, or else they’re prepared to keep him until the summer.
“I’m still told Brentford are only open to giving green light to Toney exit in case of an important proposal, otherwise they’re more than happy to keep him there until the end of the season. There are no changes to report so far,” Romano said.
Arsenal fans will no doubt hope some kind of agreement can be struck for Toney or a similar style of centre-forward, as there remain some question marks about Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah, who don’t look like being 20-plus-goal-a-season players.
Mikel Arteta’s side are currently top of the Premier League, but they might find they need more of a consistent goal threat up front if they are to keep their place ahead of the chasing pack.