Rio Ferdinand thinks there is ‘no way’ that Arsenal can sign Ivan Toney in the January transfer window, amid Gunners manager Mikel Arteta targeting the Brentford striker.
The 27-year-old is on the verge of returning to first-team action after Toney served his eight-month FA ban. Brentford will welcome their striker back on January 17 ahead of their Premier League clash with Nottingham Forest. He has not played a competitive match since last May.
Toney was the third-best goalscorer in the English top-flight last season despite missing the final three games. Just Erling Haaland (36) and Harry Kane (30) outscored the Northampton native (20). Now, Arteta is looking at Toney’s 2022/23 displays to improve Arsenal in January.
Ivan Toney is Mikel Arteta’s top striker transfer target at Arsenal
Reports by the Mirror have long cited Toney as Arteta’s No1 striker target for Arsenal for the January transfer window. It also adds that the one-cap England international hopes to move to Emirates Stadium in January. While Brentford will consider selling Toney for bids of £60m.
Arteta has alternative striker targets to Toney, with the Daily Star citing AFC Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke as his leading backup option. The Gunners admire the 26-year-old with 12 goals from 19 Premier League outings this term for his hard-working displays at Dean Court.
The Cherries will also consider selling their centre-forward for £50m in January amid further interest from West Ham United. While pundits like Matt Holland also believe Solanke would be the better transfer than Toney as the Bournemouth attacker is the ‘better fit’ for Arsenal.
What has Rio Ferdinand said about Ivan Toney leaving Brentford?
Yet while Arteta would love to sign Toney this January, Ferdinand believes Arsenal have zero chance at securing his transfer from Brentford. The Bees’ 6ft talisman is under contract with the Gtech Community Stadium natives until June 2025 on a deal agreed in September 2020.
“No way,” Ferdinand confidently stated on his YouTube channel. “Toney, don’t go to Arsenal. Brentford fans, [I’m] telling you. Facts.”
Arteta has also poured cold water on Arsenal’s chances of signing any striker in January – let alone Toney or Solanke. The Spaniard admitted after Arsenal lost 2-0 at home to Liverpool in the FA Cup last Sunday that he might have to focus on developing the likes of Eddie Nketiah.
“At the moment, it does not look realistic,” he told beIN Sports. “What my job is and what we have to do is improve our players and try to get better results with the players we have.”
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