Brentford head coach Thomas Frank has said “a deal is not close but we hope it will be” for Ivan Toney, after the striker was left out of his matchday squad for Sunday’s victory over Crystal Palace.
Toney’s exclusion from the match, despite being fully fit, came amid interest from Saudi Pro League side Al Ahli.
Frank confirmed the transfer interest was the reason why Toney was not named in his squad with the Brentford coach confirming that decision had been made jointly by him and the club on Thursday.
“A deal is not close but we hope it will be,” Frank said after Sunday’s match, which Brentford won 2-1.
“He has been one of our best players, if not our best player over a long spell,” Frank said of the England international.
“Like with any good player, one day they will leave. All the top players in the Premier League, one day they will leave the club and someone else needs to step up and do well.
“Every time Ivan hasn’t played, (Yoan) Wissa has stepped up and played well. Bryan (Mbuemo) started last season fantastic. Got hard done by an injury and now he is up to speed. So very nice.”
The 28-year-old has one year left on his Brentford contract, having not signed new terms with the club since agreeing a five-year deal when he joined from Peterborough United in 2020, and his future has been the source of persistent speculation.
The Athletic reported in the DealSheet that rather than allow him to leave on a free transfer in 11 months, Brentford would prefer to sell Toney this summer for what they regard as fair market value.
“A lot of things going on with Ivan, there is some transfer interest,” Frank told Sky Sports. “Because of that he is not in the squad.
“Ivan is a top player we all know that. He has been a fantastic player for us for four years but we showed last year we could cope without him.”
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Toney had trained all week and had been expected to be involved against Palace after Frank confirmed his availability during Friday’s pre-match press conference.
The England international had featured from the bench during Brentford’s final pre-season friendly against Wolfsburg on August 9.
“The fresh news is he trained out there with a fresh smile on his face, good attitude and he is available for Sunday,” Frank said on Friday. “This transfer window there has been so much talk about him. Let’s see.”
He continued: “Very much (happy he is still here), as long as I have Ivan I am very happy and hopefully that is for another year. We have had four great years together and hopefully that will continue for another year. With everything in life let’s enjoy the moment and look one day ahead.”
Toney was part of England’s European Championship squad (Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
In January Toney reiterated his desire to move to a “top club”.
“You can never predict when is the right time to move elsewhere, but I think it’s obvious I want to play for a top club,” he told Sky Sports.
“Everybody wants to play for a top club, (one) that is fighting for titles. Whether it’s this January that is the right time for a club to come in and pay the right money, who knows?
“But my main focus is to do what I do on the pitch, and let the background work take care of itself.”
Toney has scored 72 goals in 141 appearances for Brentford. He returned from a eight-month ban for breaching the Football Association’s betting rules in January and finished the 2023-24 season with four goals in 17 Premier League appearances.
It was confirmed in July Brentford’s record signing, fellow striker Igor Thiago, had been ruled out until “late 2024” due to a knee injury.
Brentford announced the signing of Thiago from Belgian side Club Bruges in February in a deal worth €36.5million (£30.8m; $39.6m), and the club view him as a successor to Toney.
The Saudi Arabia ministry of sport announced in June 2023 that the country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) would take control of four teams in the Saudi Pro League — Al Ahli, Al Ittihad, Al Hilal and Al Nassr — and this lead to an influx in overseas talent during last summer’s window.
Al Ahli completed the signings of Riyad Mahrez, Roberto Firmino, Merih Demiral and Edouard Mendy and finished third in the Saudi Pro League last season.
Toney would be just the second senior England international to make the move to Saudi, following Jordan Henderson. Henderson departed Al-Ettifaq for Ajax in January after just six months at the club.
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(Warren Little/Getty Images)
