Man Utd are eyeing Ivan Toney with a view to adding leadership to the squad

Man Utd eye Ivan Toney

Manchester United are interested in Brentford's Ivan Toney in their pursuit of a new striker this summer, 90 min you understand.

Toney is open to leaving the Bees this summer or in 2025 when his current contract expires. Brentford are expected to demand at least £50m, although this is subject to change depending on his participation and performance at Euro 2024 with England.

Sources have told us 90 min that United like Toney and believe he will bring experience and leadership to their dressing room if they want to do a deal – they like his confidence that borders on swagger, while they are impressed by his standing in the Brentford captain's team.

United have made signing a new centre-back to support and compete with Rasmus Hojlund a priority in the summer transfer window.

While RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko – whose contract contains a £43m release clause – is currently higher on United's shortlist than Toney, there is an admission that they will face more competition for the Slovenian star, and the Brentford striker could still be very tempting. option if Brentford's demand for him drops.

90 min understands Toney won't come cheap at £30m as some reports have suggested, but neither will he cost £100m Brentford head coach Thomas Frank has publicly indicated he is fit and the final fee will be somewhere in between. Brentford will not be easy to negotiate with but given Toney's age and length of contract, an agreement for money within United's summer budget is possible.

Chelsea have also been linked with Toney, but sources said 90 min they don't prioritize him at this point and instead look at the profile of a young striker.

Across London, Arsenal believe Toney fits the mold of the forward they want to bring in this summer, but are considering several other targets, with Sesko, Viktor Gyokeres and Evan Ferguson all high on their wishlist.

Toney's wage demands are believed to be in the region of £250,000-a-week, which is another reason why he is unlikely to be considered Arsenal's front-runner. United, however, could choose to meet these contract requirements – which would be £52m if offered on a four-year deal, potentially taking any money spent on Toney to over £100m in total.

Since returning from an eight-month ban for betting offences, Toney has scored four goals and provided one assist in 13 games for Brentford, and also scored his first England goal in a 2-2 draw with Belgium during the March international window. .

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