Brentford boss Thomas Frank has admitted that he expects Arsenal target Ivan Toney to be sold at the end of the season. The Gunners are said to be long-term admirers of Toney, who has been open about his desire to play for a top club after emerging as one of the Premier League’s finest marksmen.
The Brentford striker was linked with a move away in the January window, but nothing materialised and he ended up staying in west London. Frank, however, is preparing to lose Toney at the end of the season after revealing that he expects the forward to move on later this year.
Speaking to Danish magazine Tipsbladet, Frank said: “It’s quite obvious that Ivan Toney will most likely be sold in the summer. It can be expensive to sell your best player, but on the other hand, I also know that by summer, he’ll only have a year left on his contract with us. 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.”
Toney is only contracted to Brentford until the summer of 2025, giving the Bees a dilemma over whether to cash in later this year to avoid losing him for nothing in the future. It remains to be seen if Arsenal will firm up their interest in the summer, with Mikel Arteta’s side crying out for a prolific goalscorer at the top of the pitch.
It seems that Toney would be open to joining the Gunners after revealing last month that he wants to play for a ‘top club’, telling Sky Sports: “You can never predict when is the right time to move elsewhere. It’s obvious I’d like to play for a top club, everybody wants to play for the top clubs, fighting for titles and these kinds of things.
“Whether it’s this January for a club to come in and pay the right money, who knows? But my main focus is doing what I do on the pitch and let the background work take care of itself. To be the best you have to play with the best and [be] competing against the best.”
Toney has scored 34 times in the Premier League for Brentford since they were promoted to England’s top flight in 2021. He has two goals in as many league appearances for the Bees this season, having missed a large chunk of the campaign while serving a lengthy ban for football betting breaches.
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