IVAN TONEY has been left out of Brentford’s squad to take on Crystal Palace.
The England forward, 28, is wanted by Manchester United and Chelsea, while he has also been strongly linked with a move to Saudi Arabia.
Bees boss Thomas Frank admitted that Toney‘s absence was due to ongoing transfer talks.
He told Sky Sports: “There is a lot of things going on for Ivan, especially on transfers.
“There is some transfer interest, nothing closed yet but things are happening, so because of all that we decided not to involve in the squad.”
SkySports pundit Lianne Sanderson gave her immediate reaction.
She said: “I think it more or less means Ivan Toney will be moving on this week.”
Toney’s replacement, Igor Thiago, was ruled out with a knee injury until around Christmas.
Thiago, 23, joined the Bees for a club record £30million from Club Bruges in June with the view to succeeding the wantaway ace.
The blow put Brentford in an awkward position and it looks like Toney could be on the way regardless.
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Arsenal, Tottenham, West Ham, Chelsea and United are among the clubs that have already expressed an interest.
However, they have all been put off by his £60million price tag.
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Chelsea are on the verge of landing £85million Napoli star Victor Osimhen — in an extraordinary player-swap deal.
Meanwhile, Conor Gallagher is in transfer limbo, with the Chelsea midfielder’s proposed £33.7million move to Atletico Madrid in huge doubt.
Elsewhere, Newcastle have made a FOURTH bid worth £65million for Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi, according to reports.
In other news, Chelsea are preparing to offer Manchester United two players and a transfer fee to sign Jadon Sancho, according to sensational reports in Germany.
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Brentford are still holding out for that figure, but the Blues and Man Utd could test the waters by proposing a loan.
The Independent claims both clubs could suggest a short-term deal with an obligation to buy.
Toney’s contract is up at the end of the season and he has shown no desire to extend it.
That means the Bees must cash in during the current window or in January, where they would be forced to accept a lower fee.
Yoane Wissa is expected to lead the line for Brentford against the Eagles this afternoon.
And Frank could end up dipping into the market if Toney leaves as he looks to plug the gap left by Thiago’s KO.
