Chelsea have reportedly attempted to hijack a Saudi Arabian move for Brentford striker Ivan Toney at the 11th hour, with Todd Boehly looking to continue his spending spree at Stamford Bridge.
Toney had been closing in on a move to the Middle East after being left out of the Bees' opening two Premier League games of the season, but the Blues have now entered the race and have reason to believe that they can convince the 28-year-old to stay in England.
Sky Sports claim that Chelsea want a proven goalscorer as their new number nine and have begun formal attempts to prise Toney away from local rivals Brentford.
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Al-Ahli are yet to match Brentford's £50million valuation of Toney, having had a £35m bid rejected earlier in the summer.
They are willing to move to £42m, but are still short of the asking price that Brentford want, as they point to the fee that Fulham received for their talisman Aleksandar Mitrovic a year ago.
Even though Toney has a contract on the table from the Middle East which would pay him £50m over three years, Chelsea are said to be confident that he would fit within their wage structure if a fee can be agreed upon with Brentford, due to their ability to offer Premier League football.
Following his side's 2-0 defeat at Liverpool on Sunday, Thomas Frank revealed his frustration at the Toney saga that has clouded Brentford's summer. “I’m always happy when the window shuts,” the Danish boss said. “Then I don’t have to talk about ifs and buts and when and maybes, about a lot of players and of course Ivan. It’s all about Ivan!”
When asked whether a deal for Toney to leave Brentford is close, Frank replied: “Very good question. I actually haven’t asked about that in the last two or three days, so I don’t know actually. He trained well all week with a good attitude.”
Without Toney, Chelsea put six goals past Wolves last time out as Nicolas Jackson got on the scoresheet to prove his worth to Enzo Maresca amid interest in the England forward and Victor Osimhen.
Osimhen's agent recently ruled out the idea of his client heading to Saudi Arabia, perhaps hinting that a move to Chelsea could take place, but instead Boehly and co seem to have their sights set on Toney.
