Ivan Toney will ‘most likely be sold in the summer’, admits Thomas Frank – with the Arsenal and Chelsea target having just one year left on his Brentford deal

Ivan Toney will ‘most likely be sold in the summer’, confirms Brentford boss Thomas Frank amid interest from Arsenal and Chelsea. 

The 28-year-old recently returned to action following an eight-month ban for betting offences and will have only 12 months left on his contract with the Bees at the end of the campaign. 

Toney, who scored in his first game back last month, has attracted interest from top Premier League clubs but Brentford were able to keep hold of their talisman during a quiet January transfer window. 

However, with the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea prioritising a forward in the summer – and half a season worth of game time under his belt – Frank has admitted that Toney is likely to depart this summer. 

‘It’s quite obvious that Ivan Toney will most likely be sold in the summer,’ the Bees boss told Danish magazine Tipsbladet. ‘It can be expensive to sell your best player, but on the other hand, I also know that by the summer, he’ll only have a year left on his contract with us.

Brentford boss Thomas Frank has admitted that the striker will likely depart the club this summer

‘We also know what he’s worth. I don’t think there are many strikers in the world who are better than him right now.

‘He’s a really good striker who is in his prime footballing age. Personally, as a coach, I would prefer to keep Toney, but one day it could be fun to see him at a top team.

‘This winter, we actually had no bids for him, but it would surprise me if there aren’t a lot of clubs interested in him.’

The England striker has made no secret of his ambitions to play for an elite side and even reiterated his desire to do as much last month. 

He told Sky Sports that you can never predict when the time is right to move on but stressed his eagerness to turn out for a ‘top club’, adding: ‘Whether it’s this January that is the right time for a club to come in and pay the right money, who knows?’

Along with helping Brentford fend off the threat of relegation, the forward will have his sights set on claiming a spot in Gareth Southgate’s England squad as the understudy to Harry Kane at this summer’s European Championship.