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Brentford technical director Lee Dykes has informed the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea that they will have to pay a “decent” transfer fee in order to sign Ivan Toney in the January transfer window. Several top clubs are in the market for a marquee striker next month but with Toney set to return from his suspension on January 17, the Bees will attempt to keep him at Brentford.
Toney himself has spoken out on the possibility of leaving Thomas Frank’s outfit in January, having scored 20 Premier League goals last season before receiving his ban for breaching the FA’s betting regulations. As the 27-year-old is set to return within the next month, speculation has grown over the prospect of Toney leaving Brentford.
Arsenal and Chelsea are two of the clubs hoping to bolster their frontlines, with the Gunners making Toney their top priority and Mauricio Pochettino’s side also looking for further firepower to propel them up the table. However, Dykes has insisted that Toney will cost a pretty penny.
“I am so excited for Ivan to come back because I see him out there in training and he is some player; it looks like he’s never been away,” Dykes told the club’s website. “There’s a real ambition from him and I can see in his eyes that he’s going to be better than he’s ever been; I really believe that will be the case.
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“Yes, there will be lots of interest in Ivan in January. Naturally, there should be. He was the third-highest Premier League goalscorer last season – one of them [Harry Kane] has gone to Germany now, so he’s up there as one of the best strikers in the division. He is in the top five in the world, in my opinion.
“So there should be interest, and maybe the time comes very shortly that Ivan moves on to another club. But they will have to pay a decent transfer fee to acquire his services because he is some talent.”
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Brentford especially will be keen to hold onto Toney for the remainder of the season as Bryan Mbeumo, their talisman and player who has stepped up to fill Toney’s shoes this season, has been ruled out for several months with an ankle injury.
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