Romano reveals Ivan Toni’s asking price

The Englishman enjoyed a fantastic 2022/23 season at Brentford, scoring 20 goals in the Premier League. His season was punctuated by an eight-month ban for breaching FA betting rules, which led to a lack of interest in signing him last summer. He will be available to play again from mid-January, with Romano claiming Arsenal and Chelsea could compete for his signature.

He told the Report podcast: “Arsenal are interested in him and of course he is a player who is appreciated by people at the club so they see Toni as an important striker but we have to see if Arsenal are willing to spend a significant amount of money. They’ve made money again after what they did in the summer with Declan Rice and Kai Havertz among a number of players.”

“The same goes for Chelsea. We mentioned Victor Osimhen but Ivan Toney is another striker they are looking at and monitoring as they go into 2024 Looking for a striker – let’s see if it’s January or the summer.”

Romano further revealed that Brentford could sell their striker for £65m. He added: “No less than £65m. They want more than that but the feeling from sources is that as little as £65m will get the deal done.”

January transfer

Toney has been training with his teammates since mid-September and featured in a behind-closed-doors friendly. He will be eligible to play again from mid-January, but possibly at another London club. Arsenal and Chelsea are both interested in signing him and Brentford may want to engage in a bidding war to meet their asking price.

Arsenal currently have Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah as options in the No. 9 position, but neither is consistent in terms of scoring. The same goes for Chelsea’s Nicholas Jackson. He scored 2 goals in 8 league games. After impressing at Villarreal at the end of last season, expectations were even higher for the summer signing.

Toney would be a great upgrade for both teams at the forward position. Chelsea are working hard behind the scenes to sign him, with journalist Simon Phillips recently claiming the striker is likely to join Arsenal next year. The 27-year-old, who has been described as “world-class” by his manager, recently admitted that he has always admired the way the Gunners play.