Sky Sports journalist Dharmesh Sheth has said that Brentford have now modified their transfer stance on rumoured Tottenham target Ivan Toney, asserting that he now expects the centre-forward to leave the West London club at the end of the season.
Toney has not kicked a ball for the last seven months due to his ban for breaching the FA’s betting rules, which will lapse on January 16 (AP).
The prolific number nine remains one of the hottest properties on the market, with various reports over the last couple of months indicating that Spurs, Chelsea and Arsenal might battle it out for the 27-year-old’s signature (Express).
Over the past few weeks, some reports have downplayed Tottenham’s chances of landing Toney, with The Independent reporting recently that the Lilywhites have been priced out of a move for the centre-forward.
The outlet claimed that the race for the England international could now be between Chelsea and Arsenal, with the player alleged to prefer a switch to the Emirates over Stamford Bridge.
January move looking unlikely for Ivan Toney
However, Sheth has now stated that the Bees will not sell their star man unless they receive an offer of £100m in January, and he suggested that the centre-forward might have to wait until next summer to make a big move.
The journalist said on The Transfer Tak podcast: “A couple of months ago, the information we were getting was that Brentford would only be selling Ivan Toney if you’re talking a fee in excess of £100m.
“Now, are a club going to pay £100m in January, £100m at any other time of the year? Yes, I know a couple of clubs have done that, Arsenal have done that themselves.
“It’s whether they would do that for a player like Ivan Toney and whether Ivan Toney maybe feels a degree of loyalty to Brentford because of the ban. They’ve stood by him, he’s been back training with them, he’s back in action come the middle of January so Brentford will be expecting him to stay.
“But some of the noises coming out of Brentford now look like they’re not ruling out a sale, but they’re saying it would require a decent fee.
“I just wonder whether they’re talking in that way simply because they are conceding that Ivan Toney probably isn’t going to sign a new contract at Brentford. He’s only got 18 months left on his deal.
“Now, if he stays, the next window that he could potentially leave is the summer. How much would his value have gone down by the summer because he’s entering the last year of his contract?
“He’s going to be six months away from being able to sign a pre-contract agreement with a club outside England and a further six months away from being able to leave for free full stop. Do I think he’ll leave? I think he’ll probably stay until at least the summer.”
Spurs Web Opinion
If Toney stays at Brentford until the end of the season, his price could potentially drop to around £50m- £60m as he would only have 12 months left to run on his contract at the Gtech Community Stadium. That would perhaps bring Tottenham back into the race for the 27-year-old’s signature.