Ivan Toney looks certain to leave Brentford this week (Picture: Getty Images)
Chelsea have ‘made a move’ to sign Ivan Toney from Brentford, with a ‘good chance’ they will pull a deal off, according to reports.
The England striker has been left out of the Brentford squad for the first two games of their Premier League campaign, and with less than a year now left on his contract a summer move looks certain.
Toney has been linked with a string of clubs, including Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham, while an offer has been made for him to move to the Saudi Pro League with Al Ahli.
While the interest from other Premier League clubs appears to have waned, Chelsea are still very keen on the 28-year-old.
Sky Sports report the Blues have ‘made a move to sign’ the striker, although exactly what that entails in terms of a bid is not clear.
However, the report suggests that Chelsea have a ‘good chance’ of pulling off a deal for Toney, due to the fee and the player’s wages well within their reach.
The Bees are thought to be willing to accept in the region of £40m-£50m as they try and do a deal before the transfer window closes and avoid the risk of losing Toney on a free next year.
Chelsea have turned their attentions away from Victor Osimhen as they look for a new striker (Picture: Getty Images)
Toney is also not expected to be a problem in terms of salary, with Chelsea offering around £60,000-£70,000 as a base wage to new signings and the forward likely to accept that.
Certainly he would prove to be cheaper than another of Chelsea’s targets up front, Victor Osimhen, who has been expected to leave Napoli this summer but his transfer fee and wage demands are very high.
The Brentford star could earn more with a move to Saudi, but the appeal of staying in the Premier League, competing in Europe and keeping his England chances alive will be huge benefits in Chelsea’s pursuit of him.
There remains the chance that another Premier League or European club will come in for him, but time is ticking away before the transfer window closes on Friday 30 August at 11pm.
Toney would be yet another signing in an extremely busy summer for Chelsea in the transfer market.
The Blues have already brought in Joao Felix, Pedro Neto, Aaron Anselmino, Filip Jorgensen, Caleb Wiley, Renato Veiga, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Marc Guiu, Tosin Adarabioyo and Omari Kellyman.
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