Ivan Toney is expected to remain at Brentford despite the interest of numerous big clubs.
“Tony is currently a Brentford player. He’s here. I don’t know why he should sell him. It’s not my job to discuss other teams’ proposals, but it would have to be an incredible price to recruit him,” Brentford manager Thomas Frank told Sky Sports on Tuesday.
Tony started his career at Northampton Town and joined Newcastle United in the 2015-16 season, but failed to show any significant performance and moved to lower league leases such as Barnsley, Shrewsbury and Wigan Athletic. In the end, Tony, who failed to establish himself at Newcastle, moved to Peterboro United, a third-tier team, ahead of the 2018-19 season.
Going to Peterboro was a stroke of genius. Tony, who was just 22 years old at the time, played as the team’s mainstay throughout the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons, scoring 49 goals and 15 assists in 94 appearances. Brentford of the English Football League Championship (EFL Championship, Division Two), who watched Tony play, recruited him ahead of the 2020-21 season, and that year he played 48 games and managed to secure his team’s promotion to the PL for the first time in 74 years with an impressive attacking point of 33 goals and 10 assists.
Tony continued his performance in the PL stage. In the 2021-22 season, he scored 12 goals and five assists in 33 league games, and in the 2022-23 season, he scored 21 goals and five assists in 34 league games, ranking third in the PL after Erling Holland (36 goals) and Harry Kane (30 goals). Along with this performance, Tony also joined the English national team.
Then something unexpected happened. At the end of last year, Tony was accused of violating a total of 232 betting rules between February 2017 and January 2021. After an investigation, this turned out to be true, and he was suspended for eight months in May and could not play on the ground. Currently, Tony has returned to team training, but will not be able to play until January next year. 헤라카지노주소
Even during the eight-month hiatus, many big clubs sent a love call to Tony, who is as talented as he is. Chelsea, who recruited Nicola Jackson but has not shown clear scoring ability, Arsenal, who need another scorer other than Gabriel Jesus, and Tottenham Hotspur, who need a perfect replacement for Harry Kane, are preparing to recruit Tony. In addition, Brentford technical director Lee Dyke also hinted at leaving the team, saying, “Maybe it will not be long before Tony moves to another club.”
But in December, things began to change rapidly. This was because Brian Mbomo, the team’s main gun, was injured. With Mbomo’s return expected to be later than expected, Tony’s role in returning in January is becoming very important.
Coach Frank also said that he cannot sell Tony in January. When asked whether he would stay, he replied, “The answer is yes. I want to keep him here for a long time.”