Arsenal take ‘concrete steps’ in race for £100m striker and leave Man Utd, Chelsea in the dust

Arsenal have reportedly taken the first ‘concrete steps’ in the race to sign Brentford’s Ivan Toney, who’s been excellent since his return to football. 

The striker was suspended for eight months for breaching the Football Association’s betting regulations but that hasn’t affected his goal-scoring form.

Toney scored 20 Premier League goals last season – the third most in the division – and has netted four times in six matches so far this term.

As reported by TEAMtalk, Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea have all shown an interest in the England striker.

Brentford boss Thomas Frank admitted in a recent interview that “it is relatively obvious that Toney will probably be sold this summer.”

Toney’s contract will expire in June 2025 and as things stand, it doesn’t seem like he’ll sign an extension.

There could, therefore, be a bidding war for the England international at the end of the season.

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Brentford ‘know’ they’ll sell Toney this summer

According to transfer journalist Rudy Galetti, Brentford ‘know’ that they won’t be keeping Toney beyond this season and Arsenal are currently the favourites to secure his services.

He claims that the Gunners are now ‘taking concrete steps’ to sign Toney and are ‘confident’ they will bring him in this summer.

It’s no secret that Mikel Arteta has been considering bringing in a new striker for some time.

Arsenal’s current centre-forward options of Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Jesus have scored a combined nine goals in the Premier League this season – far less than Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland, for example.

If the Gunners are to become serial title contenders they’ll need a prolific number nine and Toney has the potential to be that for them.

The North Londoners have also been linked with Napoli goal machine Victor Osimhen, but Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain are leading the race for him.

As a result, Toney is now Arsenal’s top target but Brentford certainly won’t allow him to leave on the cheap.

The Bees slapped a £100m price tag on the striker in the January window. They will likely drop their demands in the summer but will probably still look for a fee in excess of £70m.

With that in mind, it’ll be interesting to see if Arsenal are willing to spend that much on Toney.

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