Arsenal hit complication in Ivan Toney chase

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 29 Dec 2023 09:52 GMT
• 3 min read

Brentford head coach Thomas Frank is “desperate” for Ivan Toney to stay at the club in January and fire them to Premier League safety following a poor run of results in recent weeks.

Toney, 27, has not yet featured this campaign due to an eighth-month football ban, which was issued after he pled guilty to over 200 betting breaches.

The former England international is back in full team training, however, and will be able to make his return in mid-January.

As a result, he has been linked with an immediate move away and Arsenal are the club most heavily interested in pursuing a deal.

Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United have all expressed interest in Toney since the summer transfer window, as previously reported by FootballTransfers, but the Gunners are in pole position.

In fact, sources have informed us that Brentford are willing to sit down with Arsenal representatives and discuss a “structured deal” that would see any transfer fee divided into multiple instalments.

Mikel Arteta’s side would still need to meet Brentford’s asking price, which stands at €63 million (£55m) if Arsenal are prepared to pay the fee in one straight-up payment. That figure would rise if the Gunners would rather split the deal into several instalments.

Brentford want to keep Ivan Toney in January

The Sun have now reported that Brentford boss Frank is desperate for Toney to stay in order to fire the Bees to safety.

They have lost six of their last seven league games and currently sit 14th in the Premier League table, four points behind Luton Town in 18th place.

While Brentford see Toney as crucial for their hopes of survival, Arteta has identified the Englishman as the missing piece of Arsenal’s side as they look to win the title.

Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka have scored a combined 10 goals in the Premier League this season, which is fewer than Jarrod Bowen has managed by himself (11).