England international Ivan Toney is out of contract at Brentford in 2025 (Picture: Getty)
Rio Ferdinand says he doubts Ivan Toney would be a good fit for Manchester United and hopes the club resist the urge to make an offer for the Brentford striker this summer.
Toney has just one year remaining on his current contract at Brentford and the 28-year-old has made no secret of his ambitions to play for a ‘top club’ in the future.
The likes of Arsenal and Chelsea have been tentatively linked with Toney in recent months but it’s believed Brentford’s £60million valuation is putting rival teams off bidding for the England international.
Ferdinand’s former club, United, have also been credited with an interest in the past. However, these rumours have cooled somewhat following Joshua Zirkzee’s arrival at Old Trafford.
The likes of Evan Ferguson and Dominic Calvert-Lewin are believed to be on United’s radar, though, with Erik ten Hag keen for further attacking reinforcements to ease the load on Rasmus Hojlund up front.
During a Q&A with his followers on X, formerly known as Twitter, Ferdinand said he was an admirer of Toney but argued that the forward’s ‘profile is wrong’ for the Red Devils.
‘Personally, I wouldn’t go for someone like Ivan Toney,’ Ferdinand said.
‘I rate him as a player but I just think the age, that profile is wrong for the club and the way that they’re going, the way that they’ve gone into this transfer window with this new ownership. So I just don’t see it as being a fit.
I think I found it a bit strange. He’s someone that everyone was talking about, “Could go to Arsenal, could go to Chelsea, could go here or there for £100m, £80m”, whatever it was. Then, all of a sudden, there’s no bidders so I’m a bit mystified as to why that is.
‘But for Man United, I just don’t see it as a fit right now for the way that Man United play as well.’
Brentford are demanding a fee of £60m for the striker (Picture: Getty)
Speaking to talkSPORT this week, Thomas Frank could not rule out the possibility of Toney leaving before the transfer deadline – but stressed that the attacker’s attitude had been ‘brilliant’ in training.
‘People will keep asking me [about Toney] until September 1. Honestly, I don’t know,’ the Brentford manager said ahead of his side’s Premier League opener against Crystal Palace.
‘What I do know is that he is a Brentford player. I am very happy about that.
‘He has done fantastic for us and he’s been one of our best players, if not the best.
‘If he’s in my team on September 1, I’ll be delighted. He’s not been sold yet.
‘His attitude has been brilliant, as always. Ivan is a fantastic player, he is even better as a person. He just loves to play football.’
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