Brentford asking less than £50 million for Tottenham Hotspur target Ivan Toney

According to a report from The Sun, Brentford are willing to accept a bid under £50 million for their star striker, Ivan Toney.

Toney, valued by Transfermarkt at €50 million (£42.1 million at the time of writing), was expected to fetch a price in the region of £80 million not too long ago, but middling returns from his near-season-long betting ban and the fact that his £20k-a-week contract at Brentford expires at the end of this season have significantly contributed to the Bees slashing down their asking price for the England international.

As things stand, Toney is no longer being targeted by the likes of Man United, Chelsea, and Arsenal, with Spurs and West Ham being the Premier League clubs most strongly linked with him in recent weeks.

The 28-year-old was recently seen at UEFA Euro 2024, where he played a key role in the penalty shootout of his side’s quarter-final tie against Switzerland to set up a semi-final game against the Netherlands. England eventually lost in the final to Spain.

Currently, on holiday, Toney is expected to report back at Brentford if a move is not finalised in the coming weeks. He moved to the West London club four seasons ago from League One side Peterborough United.

A move Spurs should consider

Spurs could do a lot worse than Toney.

Last year, they found goals hard to come by from central positions as only Son Heung-min (17) and Richarlison (12) reached double figures in all competitions, which was a steep decline from the 32 goals of Harry Kane from the season before.

Now, that’s not to say Spurs cannot have a more successful setup without a striker putting up less 30 than goals, but even in that case, as far as their stylistic requirements under Ange Postecoglou are concerned, Spurs would find Toney an ideal fit.

There’s a reason why Gareth Southgate was keen on taking Toney to the Euros despite his long absence last season. It’s not just his penalties, but also the positional discipline he offers as well as the confidence with which he backs himself, on the back of which he has so far in his career managed to take to the next level like a fish to water.

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Any club looking for a readymade solution up front should be considering Toney. For the Englishman, he will stand to get himself the contract of a lifetime if he decides to stay at Brentford in his final year, hopefully, register a 20-goal season, and leave for free next year, when he will be 29 and still in his prime.