Roy Keane says signing £80m January target would not be ‘ideal’ for Arsenal

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Former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane has doubts over whether Arsenal should sign Ivan Toney. 

The Daily Mail recently reported that Arsenal are keen on signing Ivan Toney in the upcoming January transfer window, with Brentford demanding a fee of around £80 million for the striker. Toney himself is apparently open to making the switch to the Emirates Stadium.

There is no doubting Toney’s talent. He showed last season that he can be prolific in the Premier League as he racked up twenty goals over the course of the campaign. The 27-year-old is also technically gifted, and uses his physicality to hold the ball up, bring his teammates into play, and dominate his aerial duels.

Toney would add a new dimension to the Gunners’ attacking contingent, and would be a good tactical fit for Mikel Arteta’s preferred style of play.

Arsenal weighing up Toney risk

However, there is one major drawback for Arsenal to signing Toney. The once-capped England man is currently serving an eight month ban for breaching betting rules. He will not be allowed to play until January, as which point he will he be sorely lacking match sharpness.

Taking this into consideration, if Arteta is seeking a goalscorer who can hit the ground running and fire his side to a Premier League title, then signing Toney would be a major risk for Arsenal.

Roy Keane is certainly concerned about this aspect of any potential deal for the £20,000-a-week target man. Speaking on Stick to Football, he said, “he’d be coming to the club having not played for a number of months, that’s not ideal.”

There is certainly an argument that Arsenal would be better off delaying signing a flagship new striker until the summer, when they will have a larger pool of options to choose from. That may well be the wisest move to make with the long-term in mind. However, that course of action could diminish their chances of clinching the title this time around.