Brentford have left star player Ivan Toney out of today's Premier League squad for their season opener against Crystal Palace, with Manchester United boss Thomas Frank confirming it is transfer-related, even if a deal has yet to be done.
Toney has been a top performer for Brentford over the years and perhaps it makes sense that he is attracting interest now that he has a year left on his contract with his current club.
According to The Independent, top clubs such as Chelsea are still considering Toney, and could move the international to England later this summer, with a possible loan deal to buy.
Meanwhile, Frank has spoken about Toney's absence today, which will fuel speculation about where the 28-year-old could be heading next…
?? Thomas Frank in Sky to Ivan Toney. “There are many things going on with Ivan. There is interest to buy players so we decided not to include him in the team. I can't give up too much… There is interest, but the deal is not closed.”
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) August 18, 2024
Toney would be a great signing for Chelsea or other top clubs, however it is also telling that the Blues probably look likely to stick with their recent policy of signing young players.
If some of their targets are unavailable, however, they would do well to at least consider Toney as an alternative, which could be a short-term solution to give them a bigger threat without hindering the development of Nicolas Jackson in the long run.
Fabrizio Romano recently revealed that Toney could have Saudi Arabia as an option.
Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside in his Daily Briefing column, Romano said: “Ivan Toney has a chance to move to the Saudi Pro League. Al Ahli have been interested since December but he is not the only candidate – there are four or five strikers on their list after the Richarlison deal.
“It's up to Toney now, the player has to decide what he wants to do with his agents and family, and nothing has been decided yet.”
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