Chelsea need to sign Ivan Toney more than Arsenal, according to former Blues right-back Glen Johnson. The striker is linked with both London clubs and Johnson reckons his old team will be able to sign him for less than Brentford’s asking price.
Toney’s eight-month ban for breaching the FA’s betting rules doesn’t end until the middle of January. Brentford have stuck by the star and want him to stay until the end of the season at least.
But his contract in west London expires in just over 18 months’ time, so a decision will soon need to be made on his future. Arsenal are set to enter the market for a striker, with Toney their No 1 target.
Johnson, though, feels Chelsea are in greater need of the England international. He also reckons that Toney would be better suited to Mauricio Pochettino’s style of play than Mikel Arteta’s.
Read more… Arsenal can sell four players in January to raise money for Ivan Toney transfer
Johnson told Betfred: “I believe Chelsea need him more and he would suit the way they play. Chelsea are clearly planning for the future and they’re continuing to build, but Arsenal are competing right now so it all depends on who Ivan believes will be competing for trophies more in the next five years.”
Brentford are demanding £100m to let Toney leave in January. The 27-year-old has scored 35 goals in 66 Premier League appearances since the Bees were promoted to the top flight in 2021.
Johnson does not think Toney’s value has decreased as a result of his ban. But he says an asking price in the region of £100m is not realistic and is Brentford just chancing their arm to see what they can get.
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He added: “It’s probably a case that that’s what they’re hoping for, as opposed to what they’ll actually get for Ivan. Brentford know that they’re only going to get one chance to sell Ivan Toney and they will want to receive as much as they possibly can for him.
“I don’t think his price will drop too much because of the ban because it’s not as if Ivan’s been injured for the past six months. If it was an injury we were talking about, then Brentford surely couldn’t demand such a fee for Ivan.
“Once Ivan is match fit, then there will be no problems going forward but I still believe that £80m to £100m is too much for him anyway.”
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