Brentford’s Ivan Toney makes ‘astronomical’ demand amid £35m Saudi Arabia links

Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli reportedly remain in talks to sign Brentford striker Ivan Toney this summer, despite failing with a £35m offer.

The 28-year-old has been the subject of intense speculation throughout this summer, with teams in the Premier League having initially held an interest in the England international, who has scored 72 goals in 141 appearances for Brentford since joining in 2020.

Manchester United and Chelsea have both been credited with an interest in Toney, but it is understood that the former are not planning to make a move for Brentford’s No.17.

The same can be said for Chelsea, who are believed to be prioritising other targets including Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and Atletico Madrid’s Joao Felix.

With Arsenal being another club said to have cooled their interest in Toney, a big-money switch to Saudi Arabia has since emerged as a potential option for the striker in the latter stages of the summer transfer window.

© Imago

Toney was left out of Brentford’s squad for last weekend’s 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace in their opening Premier League fixture of the 2024-25 Premier League season, with manager Thomas Frank confirming that his omission was due to transfer speculation.

Speaking to Sky Sports News about Toney before kickoff, Frank said: “There’s a lot of things going on with Ivan, there’s some transfer interest. Because of all that, we decided not to involve him in the squad.

“It’s the classic one – I couldn’t give too much the day before. He’s been a fantastic player for us, but we showed last year especially that we can deal without him.”

Asked if Toney has already played his final game for Brentford, Frank added: “Who knows? There’s interest, but there’s nothing close.”

Toney has entered the final year of his contract at Brentford, who are believed to be against the idea of seeing their star striker leave for free in June 2025, meaning a summer sale could be on the cards.

© Reuters

Journalist Fabrizio Romano claims that Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli have seen a £35m bid for Toney rejected by Brentford, but talks between all parties remain ongoing.

Toney is said to be Al-Ahli’s number one target and the Middle Eastern side are still waiting for the striker and his family to make a decision over his future.

However, according to talkSPORT, Toney has already made it clear that he will only agree to making the move to Saudi Arabia if he is given ‘astronomical’ wages.

Toney is said to want a base salary of over €20m (£17m), including bonuses and accommodation allowances, which would take the overall total of his demands to around €40m (£34m).

Al-Ahli were allegedly willing to pay £50m for Tottenham Hotspur’s Richarlison earlier this summer, before he rejected a move to the Middle East, but it remains to be seen whether they are willing to meet Brentford’s £50m asking price for Toney, as well as pay his wage demands.

ID:550744:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect6022: