There is no panic at Brentford after consecutive defeats derailed their steady start to the season.
No intention either, i understand, of cashing in on Ivan Toney in January – despite a flurry of speculation linking him with Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and most recently Chelsea, a club desperately in need of a prolific goalscorer.
i can confirm that Newcastle United are also firm admirers of their former striker, having begun drawing up a list of forward targets for future transfer windows which include the 27-year-old.
But the reports linking Toney with a mid-season exit have mystified insiders at Brentford, where the focus is on his much-anticipated return to football at the turn of the year.
There is no interest in selling him and no deep concern that his contractual status – his deal is up in the summer of 2025 – makes it necessary to cash in on him in the coming months. An £80m valuation has been mentioned but Toney could be worth more given the shortage of players in his mould in European football at the moment.
Thomas Frank’s honesty when talking about Toney’s future has perhaps encouraged some of the speculation but it would take eye-watering offers – or Brentford’s form sharply improving to prove they don’t need his goals – to alter their current “no sale” stance.
Toney returned to first-team training last week and is said to be looking sharp and motivated as he eyes a run for England’s Euro 2024 squad after narrowly missing out on the World Cup last year.
Under the terms of his eight-month ban he cannot officially return until 17 January but an individual plan has been devised to make sure that he hits the ground running when he is reintegrated into Brentford’s first-team plans.
Much has been made about Toney switching agents over the summer and he is now a client of the powerful and well-connected CAA Stellar agency.
But i understands there was not a single enquiry about Toney over the summer and there has been no contact recently either, despite the links with Chelsea and Arsenal.
The speculation arrives in a period when Brentford are struggling for goals and head to Nottingham Forest looking to snap a run of four games without a victory.
They delivered a much-improved performance against Arsenal in midweek but were knocked out of the League Cup. However, as i reported last season, they are a club that pay attention to underlying metrics rather than the league table, which they believe can be skewed by good or bad fortune.
There has been plenty of the latter. The Everton defeat last weekend was wretched but injuries provide plenty of mitigation for the 3-1 reverse.
Frank had to change his starting line-up at the last minute after Kevin Schade suffered an injury in the warm-up and the Germany international now faces “months” on the sidelines.
He is joined by Rico Henry – on the verge of an England call-up before his potentially season-ending knee injury – Ben Mee and Mikkel Damsgaard in the treatment room. When some of those players return, the form surely will too.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/HkeGOou
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