Long-term Arsenal target Ivan Toney is in talks to leave Brentford.
Bees boss Thomas Frank left his talismanic No.9 out of the side that faced Crystal Palace over the weekend, with whispers intensifying over the England striker's imminent departure. Brentford didn't need the 28-year-old in the end either, winning 2-1 with Yoanne Wissa leading the line.
“Ivan is a top player, we all know that,” Frank said on the high-profile exclusion. “He has been a fantastic player for us for four years, but we showed last year we could cope without him,” adding that the conversation around leaving Toney out of the matchday squad was not a difficult one.
Now, the Athletic have given a detailed report on Toney's links with Saudi Arabian club, Al Ahli. The outlet have picked up on Arsenal's historic interest, too, confirming that, “Kai Havertz’s form up front in the second half of last season made their need for a new striker less pressing.”
The Gunners currently have Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard as options at No.9. BBC Sport's The Rest is Football line-up of Gary Lineker, Micah Richards and Alan Shearer have all urged the Gunners to sign Toney, however, in a bid to topple Manchester City from their throne at the top of the league.
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“He might not be ideal for Arsenal's style, how they want to press and play, but he's a different option from off the bench,” Richards said on the podcast. “He would give them something different, a different dimension. Especially looking at the numbers, he's got a year left on his contract and there was talk about him going for only £15m. For a player who was valued at £70m a couple of seasons ago.”
“I like Ivan Toney a lot,” Lineker agreed. “I think he's super talented and gives you a completely different from what else they've got. He's a real threat and technically a really good footballer so I think he would fit in at Arsenal. Once you're at the stage where a player is left out, the writing does appear to be on the wall.”
Far be from FourFourTwo to question Lineker and Richards – but we actually disagree with the BBC pair on this one. FFT understands that Arsenal are no longer in the running to sign Toney anyway, but given that the forward is looking to take a step up in his career, joining the Gunners on a big-money contract to be a second option behind Havertz doesn't seem like a sensible use of resources for a club who have reaped a lot of success from signing younger stars with their best ahead of them.
Toney is worth €50 million according to Transfermarkt. His contract expires next summer.
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