West Ham United have been urged to beat Tottenham Hotspur in the race for Brentford star Ivan Toney and complete their ‘best signing’ in over a decade.
Toney finished last season with four goals and two assists from 17 appearances after missing a majority of the campaign due to a betting ban. But he remains one of the highest rated centre-forwards in England after netting 20 goals in 33 Premier League games the previous season and also impressing during his limited game time at Euro 2024.
Brentford boss Thomas Frank has been open about the fact that Toney could leave the club this summer. He would ideally like to keep working with the striker but knows that Brentford will cash in if a major offer arrives, especially as Toney’s contract is due to expire in June 2025.
On Friday, it emerged that Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea have all cooled their interest in Toney, who can be signed for around £50million. This has set up a transfer battle between London rivals Tottenham and West Ham for his services.
Darragh MacAnthony, chairman of Toney’s former club Peterborough United, has now weighed in on the 28-year-old’s situation. He has told West Ham to break the bank and land Toney before Tottenham, as it would be one of the best transfers in the club’s modern history.
“I think for me, the betting man [in me] would say, knowing what David Sullivan is like at West Ham, he’s always liked Ivan Toney,” MacAnthony said during a recent media appearance.
“He’ll try and basically get him at a dropped-down bargain offer from Brentford.
“And I know the Brentford people and they’d be like ‘no chance’. But I know Sullivan will try, and if he had any common sense he would.
West Ham transfers: Ivan Toney a game-changing signing
“It would be the best signing West Ham have made in 12 years, instead of a foreign striker for £70m who couldn’t hit a barn door.”
West Ham have got experience with failed strikers, as Gianluca Scamacca did not hit the heights expected of him after moving to the London Stadium in July 2022. Frustratingly for the Hammers, Scamacca has gone on to become a deadly striker at Atalanta.
As Toney knows the Prem well, his signing would come with far less risk for West Ham.
The deal is of interest to MacAnthony as Peterborough are set to pocket a sell-on fee when Toney leaves Brentford. However, the club chief went on shut down speculation that Peterborough will earn £10m or more from this clause, instead stating that he expects his club to receive £3-5m.
