Journalist Dean Jones has said that Tottenham Hotspur are one of several Premier League clubs keeping an eye on Ivan Toney’s situation ahead of next summer’s transfer window.
Toney’s eight-month ban for breaching the FA’s betting protocols has now expired and we will see the striker back in action for the first time since May when Brentford take on Nottingham Forest this evening.
Despite being out of the game for so long, the centre-forward’s stock remains very high, which is a demonstration of how good he is, and perhaps also points to the dearth of top-quality centre-forwards at the highest level right now.
The speculation linking Toney with a move to Spurs refuses to go away, with The Daily Mirror’s Ryan Taylor telling The Spurs Chat Podcast just last week that his sources continue to insist that Ange Postecoglou’s men are very much in the race for the striker.
Potential bidding war next summer for Ivan Toney
Jones suggested that now that Toney potentially looks set to leave the Gtech Community Stadium at the end of the season, the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Spurs could battle it out for the 27-year-old’s signature.
The journalist told GiveMeSport: “The first thing to look for with Toney is whether or not he does actually sign a new contract. There’s been a lot of talk around it.
“But so far, there’s nothing in place for him to actually do that. And then all the talk around the new contract was that would include a release clause, which would need to be triggered in the summer for somebody to sign him.
“Now at the moment with that not in place, it obviously seems more feasible that Toney is attainable in the summer. I think there are a lot of clubs that genuinely are looking at Toney, I think that Arsenal and Chelsea are the two main ones.
“In the background, Tottenham and even Manchester United are having a look just in case the situation could change in a way that suits them.”
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Given that Toney would have just one year left on his contract next summer, I do not think Brentford would be in a position to demand upwards of £50m-£60m for the striker.
That would bring him within Tottenham’s price range and given the FFP problems that the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal are experiencing, the Lilywhites have a realistic chance of winning the race for the 27-year-old.