Arsenal and Chelsea are in a race to see who can raise enough funds the fastest as the London clubs try and sign Brentford’s Ivan Toney during the January transfer window.
The striker is set to return to action this month having served a ban for breaching the FA’s betting rules and the 27-year-old is attracting interest from several clubs, which includes Arsenal and Chelsea
Both London clubs require a striker and Arsenal are seen as the favourites to land the Englishman in 2024.
A move for Toney may be complicated in January as Brentford have placed a £100m price tag on their star man, reports The Independent.
However, Arsenal and Chelsea need to sell players in order to sign Toney this month.
The price tag is justified by Brentford as strikers at a premium as the most in-demand position with few options.
Toney is coming off the back of a sensational season in which he scored 20 goals and assisted a further four across 33 matches during the 2022/23 campaign.
Players Chelsea could sell to make a deal happen are Ian Maatsen, Trevoh Chalobah and Conor Gallagher. As for Arsenal, a deal for Toney may hinge on whether they can move Eddie Nketiah on this month.
Should the duo fail to raise enough funds during the current transfer window, the two sides are likely to return this summer.