Chelsea’s pursuit of Brentford forward Ivan Toney could be “one to watch” over the coming weeks, according to journalist Simon Phillips.
Writing on his Substack page, Phillips said that the England international has reentered the conversation as a potential option to strengthen the forward line.
Toney was heavily linked with a switch to Stamford Bridge earlier in the year but the Blues’ interest had cooled in recent months as they considered other targets.
One of the problems that the club have had is finding a striker who wouldn’t obstruct the development of Nicolas Jackson.
The Senegalese international is highly rated by those at the club and any new No.9 would have to offer something different to manager Enzo Maresca.
As a target man, it can be argued that Toney’s profile differs enough from Jackson’s to justify his addition to the first-team squad.
Toney should be available for a reasonable fee
The 28-year-old is now within the final twelve months of his contract, and Brentford will be keen to stop him from leaving for nothing next year, especially after they shelled out £30m on his replacement Igor Thiago from Club Brugge.
It is believed that, until recently, the Bees have been demanding as much as £60m but that valuation is likely to drop the closer we get to the end of the transfer window. Obviously, his availability will also attract other suitors, including the likes of Tottenham and West Ham.
Chelsea have failed in their attempts to sign other strikers
The London club have reportedly made bids for both Aston Villa’s Jhon Duran and Atletico Madrid’s Samu Omorodion but they couldn’t reach an agreement for either player.
Victor Osimhen is also still on the club’s radar but any deal is dependent on Napoli lowering their price tag. For that reason, a move for Toney appears to be the most realistic at the moment.
