£100m target now tipped to ‘end up at Arsenal’ over Chelsea or Spurs

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Former Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew expects Ivan Toney to join Arsenal at some point. 

Arsenal certainly hold an interest in Brentford striker Ivan Toney. However, as reported by Sky Sports, the Bees have slapped a £100 million price tag on the forward.

If the Gunners were to get a deal for the 27-year-old over the line, they would surely have to sanction significant sales in order to fund the move. 

Clearly, Brentford are keen to retain Toney’s services for themselves. Given he is such a talismanic figure for the club, this is unsurprising. However, at this stage in his career, the player may well be keen to test himself at Champions League level. 

Alan Pardew believes that Toney deserves a move and that plenty of top clubs like Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur will be keen to snap him up. Speaking on talkSPORT (12/11/2023, 18:00), he said, “Toney is for me the signing…He is the one. Whoever gets him, I think, will be really fortunate. I think he will end up at Arsenal, actually.”

Signing Toney in the upcoming January transfer window would represent a real statement of intent from Arsenal. It would demonstrate beyond any doubt that the north London club are willing to go all in on chasing a Premier League title triumph this season. 

Can Arsenal make Ivan Toney move happen?

It would take a huge financial effort for the north London club to even get close to meeting Brentford’s current demands, though. Mikel Arteta spent heavily in the recent summer transfer window. 

Arsenal shelled out a club-record fee of £105 million to sign Declan Rice. £65 million was spent to prise Kai Havertz away from Chelsea. On top of that, £38 million was invested into the acquisition of Jurrien Timber. What’s more, Arsenal are still due to pay £27 million to Brentford themselves to convert David Raya’s loan switch to the Emirates Stadium into a permanent move.

It would be extremely difficult for Arsenal to manage a deal for Toney within the same financial period.