Al-Ahli of the Saudi Pro League are weighing up whether to increase their bid for Brentford’s Ivan Toney after an opening offer in the region of £35m was rejected. Toney was left out of the squad that defeated Crystal Palace on Sunday because of the interest in the striker.
Toney is in the final year of his contract but the club want more than £50m for him. The 28-year-old received an eight-month ban in May 2023 for breaching betting rules, forcing him to miss the first half of last season, returning in January to score four goals in 17 matches before being part of the England squad at Euro 2024.
“A deal is not close but we hope it will be,” the Brentford manager, Thomas Frank, said after the victory against Palace. “He has been one of our best players, if not our best player over a long spell. 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.”
Toney, who has six England caps, has made clear his desire to move if the right opportunity arises. “You can never predict when is the right time to move elsewhere, but it’s obvious I want to play for a top club,” he told Sky Sports in January. “Everybody wants to play for a top club, [one] that is fighting for titles.”
Brentford signed Igor Thiago from Club Brugge for about £30m but the Brazilian striker sustained a meniscus injury in pre-season, ruling him out until the end of the year. In the absence of Toney and Thiago, Yoane Wissa started against Palace and scored the winner.
“Every time Ivan hasn’t played, Wissa has stepped up and played well,” Frank said. “Bryan [Mbeumo] started last season fantastic. Got hard done by an injury and now he is up to speed. So very nice.”
