Chelsea plot shock swoop for striker Ivan Toney as they could ‘press ahead’ despite ban
Chelsea are reportedly still interested in Brentford striker Ivan Toney despite his ban from football, and could swoop for him in the January window.
Chelsea have signed two first-team forwards this summer. Nicolas Jackson led the line against Liverpool, with fellow summer signing Christopher Nkunku already out of action through injury.
It’s believed the Frenchman will be sidelined for several months, in a blow to the Blues’ hopes. It would not be a surprise if they were to attempt to sign a player who could fill the void he leaves.
Whether Nkunku is back by January remains to be seen, but Chelsea are reportedly plotting a signing for then. Indeed, Simon Phillips reports they could ‘press ahead’ with a winter move for Brentford forward Toney.
Phillips suggests the ‘new regime’ are fans of Toney’s, who was a target of the club before Todd Boehly took over. He states the Blues ‘pondered a move’ for Toney in ‘each of the last two transfer windows’.
Doing so this window would have made little sense, given he’s banned until January as a result of betting breaches.
That might be an issue when it comes to the potential transfer, but that could work in Chelsea’s favour. A lot of sides will likely want to wait to see how Toney performs upon his return to football, given he’ll have been out of action for eight months.
While he bagged 20 Premier League goals last season, a period on the sidelines will almost certainly lead to rust. He will be allowed to return to training in September, though, and Chelsea may fancy chancing the fact that he’ll be back near his best by January, when a lot of other sides may be wary of going after him.
With that being said, Brentford may be unwilling to sell, as they’ll have been without his services during that time, and his return could give them quite the boost.
They’ll presumably want to call upon him for the second half of the season, having not had him up to January.
It remains to be seen if Chelsea do move for him, and what Brentford’s plan of action is if somebody is to make a bid despite him having not played all season.
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