Leeds United will have to pay £35m to sign Brentford forward Ivan Toney
Leeds United will be expected to shell out a staggering £35m sum if they are to secure the services of Brentford’s in-form attacking ace Ivan Toney.
According to Football League World, Brentford have slapped a £35m price tag on the English attacker.
Known to have a phenomenal Moneyball-esque scouting system, the Bees signed Toney for an initial £5m fee in the summer.
The club hierarchy believes that he is a brighter prospect than Ollie Watkins was, who parted ways with the London outfit to join Aston Villa for £28m.
TeamTalk have claimed that Leeds are interested in signing him this summer.
Brentford may not be forced to reduce his asking rate as other Premier League sides including Arsenal and West Ham are also keen on signing Toney and could pursue a deal for the 25-year-old in the coming months.
The Bees all but set to qualify for the playoffs, but if they fail to secure promotion like they did last season, Toney, like Watkins and Said Benrahma did in the summer, could abandon ship to play in the top flight.
Speaking about Toney’s future last month, Sky Sports’ Jeff Stelling said, “To be brutally honest, whether Brentford are in the Premier League next season then I think there is every chance that Ivan Toney will be.”
His manager, Thomas Frank, said he was racking up “crazy numbers” in the Championship.
Not worth the hassle
While Toney may be a phenomenal signing, he would come in with the expectations of being a first-team regular.
With 29 goals and 10 assists in 39 league games, the forward is averaging a goal contribution per match, which is a remarkable feat. [WhoScored]
Rodrigo, who is Leeds’ record signing, joined with similar hopes, but Patrick Bamford’s sublime form this season has seen the Spain international deployed in deeper roles.
Toney would walk into the West Ham team and would love the idea of being in London and playing in Europe, possibly even the Champions League if the Hammers can secure top four.
Arsenal, another London side, would seem to be a lucrative option.
Reports may be linking Bamford to Spain, but we know he will spearhead our attack next season – meaning the £35m could be better allocated to sign a quality midfielder or left-back.
We doubt Toney will want to sign for Leeds to sit on the bench.
In other Leeds news, ‘Great attacking threat’ – Sky Sports pundit urges club to sign ‘different class’ speedster