Folarin Balogun may be staying at Arsenal now, but it still wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Gunners move for a new hitman.
Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah are both heading towards the final years of their contracts, and there’s a chance Arsenal cash in.
One striker Arsenal allegedly fancy to come in is Brentford’s Ivan Toney, with TEAMtalk reporting in March that the Gunners are rivalling Leeds for his signature.
Toney, 25, left Peterborough United for Brentford last summer, and has taken the Championship by storm with 29 goals and 10 assists in 40 games.
That’s almost a goal contribution every single game, and whether or not Brentford win promotion this season, it looks like Toney will play in the Premier League next term.
The former Newcastle man is on a stunning rise at the moment, and his ex-Peterborough chief Barry Fry has now offered his view.
Fry has told the Daily Mail that he loves how Toney defends corners as well as scores goals, believing that he has a great attitude and a ‘burning desire’ to improve.
Fry added that Toney is destined for Premier League success, but now thinks any potential suitor – such as Arsenal – would have to pay up to £40million to sign him; almost 10 times the £5million Brentford paid last summer.
“The beauty of him is that he does not only score goals,” said Fry. “When Premier League managers used to ring up about him, I told them he was our best defender, too. He was great at defending corners. What I loved most about him was his attitude. He wants to listen and to learn and to improve. He has this burning desire to improve.”
“Can he do it in the Premier League? One million per cent he can. A goalscorer like him will score goals at any level. He’ll be playing with better players for one thing. It’s just that whoever wants to buy him will have to pay £30million or £40million for him now,” he added.
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