Ivan Toney is willing to let his contract at Brentford expire if he cannot secure a major move this summer, The Pitch Prospect has learned.
English striker Toney will be a free agent at the end of next season and shows no inclination to sign a new contract to stay in west London.
2
Arsenal have considered a move for the 28-year-old, who is valued at £60m, but are unlikely to follow up their interest with a concrete offer as their current interest is in defender Riccardo Calafiori.
Sources close to Toney hope that Tottenham will make an offer before the end of the transfer window, while West Ham is also a possible destination.
Saudi Arabian clubs also have Toney in their sights.
He enters the final year of his Bees contract after a great summer, helping England to the Euro 2024 final.
Toney was an effective substitute for Gareth Southgate’s side, providing the assist for Harry Kane in England’s 2-1 win over Slovakia in the round of 16.
The 28-year-old also converted an impressive no-look penalty in England’s penalty shootout win over Switzerland in the quarter-finals.
He has been with Brentford since 2020 and helped the club to its first-ever Premier League appearance in the 2020/21 season.
Toney has helped to stabilise the club in the top flight and Brentford are now entering their fourth consecutive season there.
2
Thomas Frank’s team struggled for much of last season as Toney was suspended for the first half of the season.
Toney began his career at his hometown club Northampton Town, but moved to Premier League side Newcastle in the summer of 2015 at the age of 19.
However, he failed to break into the Magpies’ first team as he was loaned out six times during his three-year spell at Newcastle.
In the summer of 2018, he was relegated to League One with Peterborough United, where he excelled, scoring 49 goals in 94 appearances.
Posh’s good form prompted Championship club Brentford to come calling, with the West London club paying up to £10 million for Toney’s services in August 2020.
He settled in immediately at Brentford, scoring 31 goals as the club earned promotion to the top division for the first time since the 1946/47 season.
Toney was outstanding for Brentford, scoring 72 goals in 141 appearances.
In March 2023, he was called up to the England national team for the first time and was selected to represent the England national team at the 2024 European Championships in Germany at the beginning of the summer.
It appears that Toney is eyeing a move to Spurs, but his former chairman at Peterborough, Darragh MacAnthony, has pushed West Ham to secure the striker.
“I think, for me, the betting man [in me] I would say, knowing what David Sullivan is like at West Ham, he always liked Ivan Toney,” MacAnthony told The Pitch Prospect.
“He will try to get him from Brentford at what is essentially a reduced bargain deal.
“And I know the people at Brentford and they would say, ‘No chance’. But I know Sullivan will try and if he had an ounce of common sense he would do it.”
“It would be the best signing for West Ham in 12 years, instead of a £70m foreign striker who couldn’t even hit a barn door.”
Stay up to date with all the transfer news with The Pitch Prospect’s live blog