East Midlands’ rivals Derby County and Nottingham Forest will lock horns in the transfer market this summer, it has been claimed.
Striker Ivan Toney is the latest subject of Peterborough United’s determination to strike up a bidding war, with the two clubs linked with a £5m move for the ex-Newcastle striker.
The Mirror claim that Sabri Lamouchi will launch a bid for the 24-year-old, who netted 26 times in 39 outings last season for the Posh.
After the League One campaign was curtailed, chairman Darragh MacAnthony admitted it was likely Posh would, as they so often do, need to cash in on their prized asset.
Should Phillip Cocu push through a deal for Toney, he'd link up with another ex-Posh striker, Jack Marriott - another player Barry Fry spent a summer talking up, before selling for much less than the figures banded around in the media.
Forest and Derby are not the only clubs linked with a move for Toney, with effervescent director of football at London Road, Fry, claiming Celtic are running out of time to complete a deal.
"They are running out of time now. The lad is very close to signing for someone else in the next couple of days," Fry told The Scottish Daily Mail.
"Celtic would have been his preferred choice, but they are nowhere near it.
"I heard from Ivan’s agent to say Celtic were coming back. That was Sunday evening after their first game. They had heard Celtic would be coming back, but I haven’t heard anything."
