EXCLUSIVE: Man Utd eye Ivan Toney January move

Steve Kay

Updated: 22 Aug 2023 22:00 BST
3 min read

Manchester United are looking to bring in Ivan Toney in January after having conservations with the Brentford striker before the side flew out for their pre-season tour of the States, FootballTransfers understands.

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Sources have informed us that Erik ten Hag is after a No.9 following the acquisition of Rasmus Hojlund and the club are prepared to wait until Toney’s ban is lifted in January.

Man Utd need to move players on to sign anyone else this window but there is a feeling that the Red Devils are prepared to wait until the winter window to bring in the former Newcastle player.

We are told that Toney is open to a move to Old Trafford, while the time in which it will take to sign the 27-year-old means that Hojlund will have time to settle into life in Manchester.

Ten Hag has traditionally used a physical striker to fit his system and, as previously reported, Hojlund was supposed to act as a supplement to any eventual signings for that position.

But, at this present moment, Man Utd do not have the funds to make such a purchase.

Competition for Toney

FootballTransfers has previously revealed Tottenham’s interest in Toney, and it’s thought that there will be some healthy competition for his signature from the Premier League and beyond.

Toney spent three seasons with Newcastle, being sent out on loan for the majority of his time there.

He eventually signed for Peterborough United in 2019, where he played 94 games across all competitions, registering 49 goals.

© ProShots - Man Utd signed Hojlund from Atalanta

Toney moved to Brentford in 2020 for a fee thought to be around £10million. He helped them achieve Premier League status in 2021, and he’s gone on to score 68 goals in 128 competitions for the Bees.

In November 2022, it was revealed that Toney had been charged by the Football Association with an alleged 232 breaches of its gambling laws. He was banned from all football activity for eight months in May 2023.