Owen Sanders
Tottenham Hotspur are in the market for a new striker to fill the void left by Harry Kane’s shock departure to Bayern Munich. The Spurs have been linked with several names, but one of the most exciting prospects is Brentford’s Ivan Toney.
The 25-year-old has been sensational for the Bees since joining them from Peterborough United in 2020. He scored 33 goals in 48 games last season, helping Brentford win promotion to the Premier League for the first time in their history. He has continued his prolific form this season, netting 15 goals in 21 games so far.
Toney is not just a goalscorer, he is also a complete forward who can hold up the ball, link up with his teammates, and create chances. He has a powerful shot, a keen eye for goal, and a strong aerial presence. He is also versatile, capable of playing as a lone striker, or alongside another forward.
Toney’s impressive performances have not gone unnoticed by other clubs. According to The Independent, Brentford have slapped a £100 million price tag on their star man, who is attracting interest from Arsenal and Chelsea among others.
Arsenal are looking for a long-term successor to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has struggled for form and fitness this season. Chelsea are also keen to add more firepower to their attack, despite signing Timo Werner from RB Leipzig in the summer.
However, Tottenham have an edge over their London rivals in the race for Toney. According to journalist Dean Jones, who spoke to GIVEMESPORT, Spurs are seriously considering making a move for the Brentford ace in the summer.
Jones said: “The first thing to look for with Toney is whether or not he does actually sign a new contract. There’s been a lot of talk around it. But so far, there’s nothing in place for him to actually do that. And then all the talk around the new contract was that would include a release clause, which would need to be triggered in the summer for somebody to sign him. Now at the moment with that not in place, it obviously seems more feasible that Toney is attainable in the summer. I think there are a lot of clubs that genuinely are looking at Toney, I think that Arsenal and Chelsea are the two main ones.”
Jones added that Tottenham have a good relationship with Brentford, having done business with them before. Spurs signed midfielder Josh Dasilva from the Bees in 2018, and loaned out winger Jack Clarke to them last season.
Jones said: “Tottenham have got a good relationship with Brentford as well. They’ve done deals with them before. They’ve got Josh Dasilva there who came through their academy. They loaned Jack Clarke there last season as well. So there’s definitely a good relationship between those two clubs.”
Jones also suggested that Toney could be tempted by the prospect of playing under Tottenham manager Antonio Conte, who has a proven track record of developing strikers. Conte has worked with the likes of Diego Costa, Romelu Lukaku, and Lautaro Martinez in his previous clubs.
Jones said: “I think Conte is somebody that Toney would look at and think ‘wow, he could really take me to another level’. Conte has done it with so many strikers before. He’s done it with Diego Costa at Chelsea, he’s done it with Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez at Inter Milan. He’s somebody that really knows how to get the best out of his strikers.”
Tottenham have shown this season that they can cope without Kane, thanks to the form of Son Heung-min and Richarlison. However, adding Toney to their squad would give them another dimension and more options in attack.
Toney is one of the hottest properties in English football right now, and he could be worth every penny of his £100 million valuation. Tottenham should do everything they can to beat Arsenal and Chelsea to his signature.
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