01 November 2023 , 10:23
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Ivan Toney is back training with Brentford but is lining up in the 'opposition XI' as the Bees continue to prepare for life without the striker.
Toney is in the midst of a lengthy ban for breaching betting rules and is poised to return come January. Brentford are willing to sanction his exit with an £80m price tag slapped on him amid interest from London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea - who get ignite a bidding war.
Brentford have moved players on in the past and replaced them impressively. It appears they are not only planning for life without Toney, who is lining up against the defence in set piece sessions, but they're also preparing for what it would be like to face him.
The striker underwent four months of fitness work at home with a personal trainer after his ban was announced in May. Toney then returned to first-team training on September 18 and has been put on a bespoke 16-week training programme, reports the Evening Standard.
Toney has hopes of making England's Euro 2024 squad and will need to hit the ground running if he is to impress Gareth Southgate. Making an impact for a top side chasing the title or challenging for silverware could yet enhance his ambitions.
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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is a big admirer of the Brentford forward, who was only outscored by Erling Haaland and Harry Kane last season. The Gunners spent £200million in the summer which is set to hamper them in the New Year as they work with a limited budget.
Ivan Toney is tipped to leave Brentford this January (Paul Dennis/TGS Photo/REX/Shutterstock)Chelsea don't seem to have such concerns having already spent over £1bn since the arrival of Todd Boehly. Some of that has been spent on forwards with Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku being signed in the summer, although the latter has been injured for the majority of the season.
Pochettino retains hope that Jackson and fellow striker Armando Broja can prove to be successes, but the Argentine thinks that Toney's link-up play can aid a forward line that has failed to fire for the past 18 months. So far this term Chelsea have scored 13 times in 10 outings - 13 fewer than the league's top scorers Newcastle and Aston Villa.