Ivan Toney has been left out of the Brentford squad for Sunday’s clash with Crystal Palace as manager Thomas Frank confirmed his absence is due to “a lot of transfer interest”.
Toney has made clear his desire to leave the Bees, who want £60m for their talisman as he entered the final year of his contract.
Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United have all been linked with the England international, but have been put off both by the transfer fee, which they deem extortionate as they could wait and sign him for nothing next summer, and his £13m salary demand, which works out to around £250,000 per week.
Despite the speculation surround his future, Frank revealed in his pre-match press conference that Toney was ready to play his part on Sunday.
Frank stated: “The fresh news is that he trained out there with a big smile on his face – he looks sharp, with a good attitude, and is available for Sunday.
“Very much (happy he is still here), as long as I have Ivan I am very happy and hopefully that is for another year. We have had four great years together and hopefully that will continue for another year. With everything in life let’s enjoy the moment and look one day ahead.”
But in the end the Brentford boss changed his mind and opted to leave Toney out of the game at the Gtech as uncertainty surrounds him.
“There’s a lot of things going on with Iva, especially with transfers,” the Brentford manager explained.
“There’s a lot of transfer interest and because of that we decided he would not be in the squad.”
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Frank admits Toney’s absence comes as a “blow” to Brentford but is hopeful the club can survive without him, just as they did for the first half of last season.
“Of course [its’a blow]. He’s a top player and has been fantastic for us,” he added.
“But we showed last year that we can deal without him.”
Asked whether Brentford fans may have seen the last of Toney, Frank replied: “Who knows. There is interest but it is not close.”
It’s thought Al Ahli in Saudi Arabia are the side pushing hardest to sign the striker as things stand, but there is still some way to go to get the deal across the line.
Toney was slapped with an eight-month ban in May 2023 after he was found guilty of 232 breaches of the FA’s betting rules.
It meant Brentford were without Toney until January and the attacker ended the season with four goals in 17 appearances in the English top flight.
Brentford announced the signing of Igor Thiago from Belgian side Club Bruges in February in a deal worth €36.5million (£30.8m; $39.6m), and the club view him as a successor to Toney, though the Bees were dealt a blow in pre-season as their new signing was ruled out for a significant spell with a knee injury.
