Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg has branched out from just Bundesliga rumours. These days, he’s got links all over, and today it’s very much a Premier League affair.
The insider has the eyebrow raising claim that Brentford could accept as little as £30m “all-in” for striker Ivan Toney this summer, with his price plummeting as he heads towards the end of his contract, and especially following a disappointing return to Premier League action following his betting ban.
This is just 6 months after figures of double that were being quoted for the striker.
Plettenberg says “many clubs” are interested, with Chelsea and Arsenal both name checked specifically. But are we really in the race? Is Toney really the type of player, and a big enough upgrade, to be worth it?
The exception to the rule?
What’s made a Toney move feel unlikely thus far is simply that he doesn’t really fit into the model we’re currently going for. The focus has been on very young players, and a 28 year old Toney whose value is only likely to drop as he enters his 30s does not fit with that at all.
But rules are made to be broken, and when a bargain price like this comes around you’d have to assume (and hope) that it’s being considered. This team has struggled desperately from a lack of experience, and adding a veteran Premier League goalscorer to the mix might be hugely useful.
It seems we will soon know just how religiously the sporting directors intend to stick to their plan.