Arsenal now told to abandon pursuit of Ivan Toney in favour of £150m transfer

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Arsenal have been linked with a move for wantaway Brentford striker Ivan Toney, but have now been told to abandon a move for him and wait for Napoli’s Victor Osimhen instead.

Toney is currently serving a ban which ends in January, and Arsenal have been touted as a potential destination for the 27-year-old in the winter window.

The Englishman scored 20 Premier League goals for Brentford last season, and it could be an expensive deal to bring him in, with a fee of £60m often suggested as his asking price.

Arsenal have now been told that waiting until the summer, and splashing out more on Napoli’s Victor Osimhen would be a better move.

Arsenal told to sign Osimhen over Toney

Speaking on Charles Watts’ Inside Arsenal YouTube channel, CBS journalist James Benge has now claimed that Arsenal should forget Toney and pursue the superior attacker in Osimhen.

“He’s Toney but can do half a dozen other things. He’s excellent,” Benge stated.

“He’s probably going to be the best striker on the market non-Mbappe for a fair few years, so would make sure you’re not priced out of that.

“The right decision is probably to wait it out and see if you can get an Osimhen in the summer.”

Arsenal should ignore Toney in January

Whilst it would be tempting to recruit Toney in January, Arsenal are not desperate enough for a striker which would justify the move.

Gabriel Jesus, Eddie Nketiah, Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard are all options for Mikel Arteta, and Toney arguably does not raise the level of this crop of forwards.

Toney’s lack of match fitness also means that he may not have an immediate impact, reducing the benefit of signing another forward now than in the summer.

Whilst Osimhen has a reported price tag of £150m, which could potentially lower as he gets closer to the end of his contract, the Nigerian would be a level-raising signing if Arsenal can pull it off.

If not, then other options in the market could be explored in the summer, if Arsenal do not spend on Toney in January.

If Arsenal spend a significant sum on Toney, it would prevent them from signing a better forward, and potentially Osimhen in the summer, and it would be frustrating to see someone of his quality potentially joining a rival instead.