According to Football London, Arsenal and West Ham must pay a seven-figure fee to sign Brentford striker Ivan Toney this summer.
The report claims that Thomas Frank’s side will accept a sum close to £30 million for the 24-year-old hotshot, who is in the form of his life right now.
However, Football London say that if Brentford win promotion, they’ll only be prepared to do business for an obscene amount of money.
You might baulk at that aforementioned sum, although that seems to be the going rate for quality Championship strikers nowadays.
After all, Aston Villa handed Brentford £28 million for Ollie Watkins back in the summer, in a deal which could still rise to £33 million.
The Villans frontman scored 26 Championship goals last season in 49 appearances.
Compare that to Toney’s 25 goals in 33 outings, and the Bees could justifiably charge more for the former Newcastle striker.
Whatever they demand for their No.17, they’ll be making a huge profit on the £5 million they handed to Peterborough for his services back in August.
West Ham certainly need a new frontman after selling Sebastien Haller to Ajax in January.
Arsenal’s need for a new centre-forward isn’t as urgent.
Mikel Arteta has Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah to choose from, as well as Folarin Balogun – Gabriel Martinelli can also operate as a central striker if need be.
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