Chelsea chiefs are monitoring Brentford striker Ivan Toney ahead of a potential move to Stamford Bridge, according to transfer insider Dean Jones.
What's the latest on Toney to Chelsea?
The Blues currently have Frank Lampard in charge but regardless of whoever is set to take over in the summer, attacking reinforcements will be needed given the uncertainty surrounding the futures of both Romelu Lukaku and Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang.
The Bees forward won’t be out of contract at the Community Stadium until 2025, but being Thomas Frank’s overall and offensive best-performing player this season with a match rating of 7.27, has been identified as a possible target by the Premier League giants.
The Mirror reported last August that the SW6 outfit had joined the race alongside Manchester United and Everton to sign the 27-year-old, and having since made his debut for England at the Euro 2024 qualifiers he has re-emerged onto the radar of Todd Boehly and his team.
According to Jones in his column for GiveMeSport, Toney has “caught the eye” of Chelsea’s recruiters and they believe that he would be a “good fit” with the other attacking options currently available to them. The Blues have been “crying out” for a natural centre-forward who has a “confidence in his own ability”, but Brentford won’t let him leave without a fight.
With Ollie Watkins previously bringing in £33m when he left the Bees to join Aston Villa, it’s believed that the striker is “easily” valued at £50m as a result of him eclipsing “anything he had achieved”, so the owner will need to dig deep should he want to secure his services.
Should Chelsea sign Toney?
Toney certainly might not be as high-profile as some of the other big names like Juventus' Dusan Vlahovic, who Chelsea have been linked with, but we feel they should empty their pockets to move him across the capital this summer.
The Three Lions international has clocked up an outstanding 87 goal contributions (66 goals and 21 assists) in 120 Brentford appearances and he is currently the third-highest scorer in the top-flight this season just behind Harry Kane and Erling Haaland.
The Northampton-born talent has also recorded 81 shots since the start of the term which is higher than any of his fellow teammates, and this collective form and effort has seen him dubbed a "monster" by Bees reporter Billy Grant, so this deal really is a no-brainer to complete should the opportunity present itself at the end of the season.