Chelsea threatening to repeat Mudryk mistake with striker available at ‘shockingly low’ price
Robin Bairner
- 25 Oct 2023 10:14 BST
- 4 min read
Chelsea and Arsenal are both chasing Brentford striker Ivan Toney ahead of the January transfer window in a battle that promises to resemble the one that saw the Blues land Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk.
Although the Ukraine international has finally got off the mark in the Premier League for the Blues and even netted against Arsenal in Saturday’s derby, it would be a brave fan who would say that he has proven worth the €70 million that the Blues paid upfront for him.
There is time for the 22-year-old to come good, of course, but nearly a year into his adventure at Stamford Bridge, he looks destined to become a player history will remember as one they drastically overpaid for.
Chelsea, meanwhile, could be sleepwalking into a similar error with Toney.
Clearly, the Blues are in desperate need of a goal scorer. Despite Mauricio Pochettino billing Nicolas Jackson as a potential Premier League great, the Villarreal forward has started the campaign in unconvincing form and through nine matches the Stamford Bridge side have scored only 13 goals – better than last term but still an average figure.
Naturally, a new centre-forward is on their agenda and Toney is a player they are interested in capturing. But they should not do so at all costs.
Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Brentford are willing to sell the 27-year-old forward for a fee just short of €75 million (£65m), which The Sun has described as being “shockingly low”.
This figure, though, is only low in comparison to the €90m that Toney was previously being listed for.
Why Chelsea shouldn’t spend big on Toney
There are numerous reasons that Chelsea should not buckle to Brentford’s overpriced for Toney.
Firstly, by the time January rolls around, he will be close to 28 and nearly exiting his peak years as a player. This means that his performance levels are likely to decline but also that he will offer little to no sell-on value for a club that will have to consider Financial Fair Play regulations closely in the next 18 months.
It’s true that Chelsea need more experience in their team, but despite his age, Toney does not offer that. He has just two years of Premier League football under his belt, and while his goal return is impressive in that time, he has never played for a club the stature of Chelsea as anything like a first-time regular.
On top of this, there is the consideration that Chelsea need a player to come in and hit the ground running. Having not played for eight months by the time January rolls around because of a betting ban that struck late last season, Toney is not someone who could offer that guarantee. He may be fit, but he will not be match sharp.
Given all this, and the fact that he has just 18 months left to run on his Brentford contract, the “shocking low” price on Toney should be considered rather expensive.
Chelsea were here last year when they made a desperate move for Mudryk and Boehly cannot afford to be caught out again.
