Club ready to sell £80m star to Chelsea

Brentford could be ready to sell Ivan Toney in January amid interest from their west London rivals Chelsea.

That is according to a report from football.london.

It claims that Brentford are willing to do business when it comes to Ivan Toney, while Chelsea are seriously thinking about making a move for the striker.

Brentford are likely to demand a huge fee for Toney, though.

At the start of the month, the Evening Standard claimed that the Bees had slapped an £80m price tag on their talisman.

Brentford and Thomas Frank will obviously not want Toney to go; he is their best player.

Last term, the 27-year-old scored 20 goals in 33 Premier League appearances. He was easily one of the best centre-forwards in the top flight.

Brentford fans would also be gutted to see Toney join Chelsea, the club’s west London rivals. However, the Bees could be about to enter dangerous territory with him here.

Toney’s contract expires in 2025 and the possibility of the England international leaving the Gtech Community Stadium on a free transfer is something that has already been mentioned. But it is not something Brentford will want to happen, especially if they can get £80m for him now.

If Toney is showing no desire to put pen to paper on a new deal, then Brentford are definitely going to have to consider a sale.

It does not have to happen in January, but his value is going to drop as his contract continues to run down. Ultimately, Brentford are going to be in a much weaker negotiating position next summer, which is why they should not rule out a winter sale. And if they do not, then that could be very good news for Mauricio Pochettino and Chelsea.