“You can never predict when is the right time to move elsewhere”, Ivan Toney said earlier this year.
Yet it seems clear to many that this summer is precisely just that. The striker’s value will have risen over the last month thanks to his contributions for England at Euro 2024, and Brentford will drive a hard bargain.
Manchester United have been linked with holding interest in the attacker, who has not been shy about his ambitions to move on from the Bees. “Everybody wants to play at the top of the tree,” he said in January upon his return from a six-month betting ban.
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“Not that Brentford aren’t there but playing for a big club and fighting for trophies, I really want to do that.” He insists Brentford boss Thomas Frank is aware of this and many would be surprised if Toney did not move on this summer.
United are about to spend more than £35m on Joshua Zirkzee, who has scored just 14 times in 58 matches over two seasons. Toney – who has scored 25 in the same period despite his betting suspension – would cost around nearly double the amount.
Furthermore, he would wish for promises over game time meaning Rasmus Hojlund would have to become a rotational player. This would have been the best scenario for the Dane upon his initial arrival, but now he is a regular starter it would cause unrest to demote this status.
The fact that Hojlund is one of just four players exempt from sales this summer indicates United plan to keep him as the primary striker. But if Erik ten Hag nevertheless wishes to enquire about Toney, the attacker has already given his verdict on an approach.
“If the chance was to come along [to move to a big six club], I would be silly not to look more into it.“The next club I go to if I was to move, it would be the right club.”
Although, he also added this: “I’ve been a Liverpool fan my whole life but from young, I’ve liked Arsenal, watching Arsenal, how they play and how passionate the fans are.”
The likelihood of Toney, 28, arriving at Old Trafford looks slim, even if in prospect it sounds exciting. Besides, Sir Jim Ratcliffe has said he is more bothered about finding the next star, rather than players who are approaching 30.
“I would rather sign the next Mbappe rather than spend a fortune buying success,” Ratcliffe previously said. “It’s not that clever buying Mbappe.
“Anyone could figure that one out. More challenging is to find the next Mbappe or next Jude Bellingham or next Roy Keane.”
Toney, while obviously talented, is unlikely to reach those heights. And with United also wanting new central defenders and a midfielder, the club need to choose their targets carefully given they are working within tight financial limits. A move for Toney might be more problematic than useful in the long-run.