Ivan toney: I really want to join Chelsea I think we can win trophies together as a team.
Chelsea already have a major advantage over Arsenal in the race to sign Ivan Toney. The 27-year-old continues to be heavily linked with an exit from Brentford despite receiving an eight-month ban in the summer for breaching Football Association betting rules.
Despite having not played in the Premier League since May, Toney remains one of the most coveted strikers in Europe. The England international will be eligible to finally make his full return to action on January 16, but his first competitive game back for the Bees won’t be until January 30 against Tottenham.
By then, he’ll also have just 18 months remaining on his contract. Despite the little time left on his deal at the Gtech Community Stadium and the danger that he may no longer be as good as he once was, Brentford have reportedly given him a £100million price tag.
With the January transfer window set to open in the coming weeks, the Bees will be bracing themselves for offers. But, one Premier League rule in particular prevents Arsenal from ducking Financial Fair Play restrictions and beating Chelsea to Toney’s signature.
Mikel Arteta will not be able to bring the Englishman to the Emirates Stadium on loan next month unless David Raya’s temporary deal is terminated. The English top-flight rules state: “The maximum number of loans registrable in the same season is four, and, under no circumstances, shall more than one be from the same club at any one time.”
The goalkeeper joined Arsenal a loan in the summer, and football.london understands there is an option-to-buy clause worth £27million which will likely be triggered at the end of the season. The books do not roll over until the summer so sending Raya back to Brentford would negate the purpose of his loan.
So, unless Arsenal either terminate Raya’s deal or activate his buy-clause in January – which defeats the purpose of why he was originally signed on ‘temporary basis’ – Edu will not be able to welcome Toney to north London on loan. Therefore, in order to acquire the striker, the Gunners will likely need to outbid Chelsea.
In an interview with Betfred, Glen Johnson insisted that no club should pay more than £80million for Toney next month. The former Blues defender said: “It’s probably a case that that’s what they’re hoping for, opposed to what they’ll actually get for Ivan.
“Brentford know that they’re only going to get one chance to sell Ivan Toney and they will want to receive as much as they possibly can for him. I don’t think his price will drop too much because of the ban because it’s not as if Ivan’s been injured for the past six months.
“If it was an injury we were talking about, then Brentford surely couldn’t demand such a fee for Ivan. Once Ivan is match fit, then there will be no problems going forward but I still believe that £80million to £100million is too much for him anyway.”
About The Author
