Last week, Brentford announced the signing of Brazilian striker Igor Thiago from Club Brugge, with the 22-year-old set to join the Bees in July. Almost immediately, the rumour mill, which churns constantly, went into overdrive. The speculation over the future of Ivan Toney, in the news for the best part of a year, grew even more frenzied.
Brentford manager Thomas Frank’s words describing his new signing were most instructive: “I’m very pleased that we have been proactive,” he said. “Thiago is a very exciting striker who fits the role in our team. He is hard-working and a very good pressing player. He is also a physical presence, very good in the box and can link the play.”
The position of affairs
The listing of Thiago’s qualities described Toney’s profile — further evidence, for those who sought it, that Brentford was preparing for life without its talisman next season. With Toney being the subject of interest from the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Newcastle and Tottenham Hotspur, the likelihood of a transfer this summer is particularly strong.
Toney, who returned in January from an eight-month ban for breaching FA gambling rules, is out of contract at the end of next term — so it’s hardly surprising that Brentford will be keen to cash in on its highest-value asset if it can’t convince the frontman to sign a new contract. The cost of losing a player of such calibre on a free transfer is crushingly high.
Moreover, Frank was quoted by a magazine in his native Denmark saying Toney is likely to be sold in the close season — but the Brentford manager has since clarified that the translation of his comments may not have been entirely accurate. Saying he would “love Toney to stay forever”, Frank did, however, admit that “the reality is he’s got one more year left on his contract in the summer. I think he’s been pretty open about playing for a top club in the future.”
When asked about his manager’s comments, Toney joked: “I see that as he doesn’t want me! The manager has said what he’s said but I can’t make clubs come and get me. I’ve just got to keep doing what I do and that’s score goals. What will be will be.”
Toney has certainly been bagging goals, showing little sign of rustiness on his return. When he scored in the 4-1 defeat to Liverpool, it was his fourth goal in five games.
This includes a goal 19 minutes into his comeback on January 20 against Nottingham Forest — a freekick in which he moved the ball and the referee’s foam after the wall had been formed, without the referee noticing, and curled it into the net.
Made for prime time
The response to the goal was divided — some felt it was sharp practice, others asserted it was what winners do — but there was no dispute over the sense that this was prime-time Toney. The 27-year-old relishes the big stage and the bright lights. “I manifest things like this,” Toney said on NBC. “Most of them go in the stands and the car park, but this one went in.”
It’s not difficult to see why Toney is in such high demand. He was the third-highest scorer in the Premier League last season — his second full season in the top-flight — with his 20 goals from 33 appearances bettered only by Erling Haaland and Harry Kane.
What’s more, he often finds a way of influencing games even when he doesn’t score. In the 3-1 defeat against Manchester City earlier this month, Toney played a vital part in Neal Maupay’s goal. His physical presence and threat occupied and disturbed two defenders, allowing ’keeper Mark Flekken’s goal-kick right through and into the path of Maupay.
“He is an exceptional player, he is an extraordinary player,” said City manager Pep Guardiola, who suffered at Toney’s hands last season when Brentford completed an extraordinary double over the Sky Blues. “He is so dangerous. He’s a master [at] us[ing] his body for the second ball, good finishing, you can link with him — he’s one of the best I’ve ever seen [at that].”
Toney’s mentality makes him an especially attractive proposition for the top clubs. A big personality, he seems to thrive when the stakes are high.
Talking about his comeback in January with Brentford’s official website, Toney said he felt no nerves. “Nope, it was just excitement. I just wanted the whistle to go and to be involved. That was my time to shine. I was always going to come back stronger — that’s just the mentality I have. I want[ed] to be a different animal when I came back. It’s going to be frightening.”
Mental strength
This strength of mind was evident in how he dealt with his ban for breaching the FA’s betting rules after he was diagnosed with a gambling addiction. “The biggest punishment [is] to miss out on a World Cup — everyone’s dream — it is bigger than missing eight months of football,” Toney told Kick Game YouTube channel. “I don’t want anyone to feel sorry for me. I done what I done before, the punishment is the punishment.”
Toney is determined to find a place in the England side for the Euros this summer — Frank has advocated Toney’s case, saying “I know what Ivan can bring, and I think it’s something different England don’t have”.
But irrespective of whom Gareth Southgate picks as Kane’s understudy — the England manager is keeping an eye on the likes of Ollie Watkins, Callum Wilson and Eddie Nketiah — there is greater interest about where Toney will find himself following the Euros. With several top strikers expected to be on the market this summer, Victor Osimhen the other big name Premier League clubs are chasing, it could be a case of how the dominoes fall.
“You can never predict when is the right time to move elsewhere, but I think it’s obvious I want to play for a top club,” Toney told Sky Sports. “Everybody wants to play for a top club that is fighting for titles. To be the best, you have to play with the best and compete against the best.”
Frank, too, doesn’t know where Toney will end up — and, perhaps more pertinently for the Bees boss, for how much. But he is certain of one thing. “We know what he’s worth. I don’t think there are many strikers in the world who are better than him right now,” said Frank. “Who knows what is going to happen in the summer? What Ivan is very good at is being in the moment — right now, here, ready. That’s what he is focusing on.”
