Brentford boss Thomas Frank has admitted he is ‘not even thinking’ about a potential Ivan Toney departure in January.
The striker remains absent from the Bees due to his eight-month ban for breaching the Football Association’s betting rules.
3
Toney was allowed to make a return to training last week after serving the first half of his suspension.
talkSPORT understands that amid their struggles in front of goal, Chelsea could make a move for him in the January transfer window.
Arsenal are also said to be keen on signing the 27-year-old and are stepping up their interest, as reported by The Mirror.
Speculation over Toney’s future at Brentford will likely increase in the coming weeks, but boss Frank is currently remaining quiet on the situation.
When asked if he fears he may not play for the club again in Tuesday’s press conference, Frank said: “That’s too far ahead, I’m not even thinking about that.
“Ask me when we get a little bit closer, I probably can’t answer your question but maybe a little bit closer to the actual situation.”
He also remarked: “For me as a coach, I don’t want to sell him. Of course I want my best players. Of course I say to Phil [Giles] or Matt [Benham] ‘don’t sell him’.
“Ivan is a world class player, so why should we sell a world class player? I want him to play for Brentford for the rest of his contract but that’s not up to me to decide.”
3
Frank continued: “As you know we are preparing for transfer windows ahead. Of course, we are not only looking not only at striker options or full-back, we are prepared for any position if something should happen.
“I think it’s also fair to say that if we wanted a striker in the summer we could’ve tried to get one, we got one in Neal [Maupay], you could say that, so, yeah, let’s see.”
Toney enjoyed a stellar season for Brentford before his ban came into place as he scored 21 goals in 35 appearances in all competitions.
He made his first ever senior England appearances as a result – coming off the bench in their Euro 2024 qualifying win over Ukraine. in March.
Should he leave the club when the market reopens, Chelsea fans will hope he can solve their scoring woes should they sign him.
The Blues have netted just five times in the Premier League this season and currently sit 14th in the table.
A switch to Arsenal on the other hand would likely see Toney compete in a title race.
Mikel Arteta currently has Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah at his disposal, but may look to bring in more firepower in the New Year.
But in a boost for the Gunners, Toney hinted that he would welcome a move to the north Londoners in the future.
The new talkSPORT match centre
Keep up-to-date with all the latest football fixtures, results and standings in our new match centre.
Source From: Football News, Transfers, Opinion – talkSPORT
Source link
Recent Comments