Ivan Toney is on pace to break the all-time Championship goalscoring record and it seems inconceivable that he’ll not be playing Premier League football next season, whether that be for Brentford or someone else.
Wolves are the latest club to show an interest in the 24-year-old, according to Teamtalk, with Arsenal, West Ham, Leicester City and Leeds United all previously reported as being keen on the frontman.
Toney has scored 25 Championship goals in 33 games for the Bees, at a rate of one every 112 minutes, with 13 matches remaining to overtake Glenn Murray’s all-time mark of 30 for Crystal Palace in 2012/13.
Goalscoring has been a major issue of Wolves this season, after the head injury sustained by Raul Jimenez against Arsenal in November with January arrival Willian Jose goalless in eight matches.
Jimenez should return to action but it’s exposed a problem within Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad and their lack of depth in the final third, for which a striker of the calibre and potential of Toney would well full.
Ollie Watkins’ £27million sale to Aston Villa last summer has provided Brentford with a benchmark figure as to what they can expect for Toney and he’s ranked in the £30m bracket.
Arsenal could well be in the market for a frontman this summer with Folarin Balogun set to leave on a free transfer and the futures of Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah very much up for debate.
Lacazette has one year remaining on his contract this summer and turns 30 in May; the Gunners must decide whether to commit to the long-term or elect to sell the France international, before his value starts to drop.
Nketiah, 21, is at a different stage of his career but has found chances limited this term with a growing feeling that he may not be able to make the breakthrough at Arsenal.
The England Under-21 international is also out of contract in 2022 and the likelihood is that at least one of them will be sold, potentially both, which could raise significant transfer funds for the summer.
Whether or not £30m on Toney fits that plan remains to be seen but the Brentford striker is likely to be among the Premier League’s most wanted when the summer transfer window opens.
