Ivan Toney has confirmed he will be staying at Brentford for the rest of the season as he nears his return to competitive action.
Toney was hit with an eight-month ban for gambling breaches which has kept him out of action since May, but he is free to return to the Brentford first team on Wednesday, the day after the FA Cup third-round replay against Wolves.
Whether Toney would ever play for Brentford again was up for debate as both Arsenal and Chelsea added the 27-year-old to their list of potential January targets, although the Bees’ asking price of over £80m has always rendered a move unlikely.
In recent weeks, Brentford head coach Thomas Frank has publicly stressed his confidence that Toney would remain beyond January and the striker himself even recently admitted his desire to repay Brentford’s faith and support in him during his time on the sidelines.
Now, in a phone call with former teammate Pontus Jansson which was captured by Brentford media, Toney has confirmed he does not plan on leaving the club this month.
“I’m staying, I’m staying,” Toney told Jansson. “I can’t wait to get back.”
Talk of a January departure for Toney has cooled in recent weeks, partly due to Brentford’s poor performance in the Premier League this season.
The Bees have slipped to 16th in the table, just three points clear of the relegation zone, and have been awaiting the return of a striker who bagged a whopping 20 goals in 33 games in England’s top flight last season.
Toney will enter the final 12 months of his Brentford contract at the end of the season and will once again be linked with an exit this summer, but the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea are both known to be admirers of a number of alternative strikers as they seek the best way to spend their money.
90min understands Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, whose contract contains a release clause worth over £100m, is a key target for Chelsea.
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