Brentford striker Ivan Toney has revealed his ideal summer transfer would be to 14-time Champions League winners Real Madrid.
Toney is hoping to force his way into Gareth Southgate’s plans for Euro 2024 and was called up on Thursday to England’s 25-player squad for the upcoming March internationals.
The 28-year-old missed the first six months of the 2023/24 season after receiving an eight-month ban from the FA for breaches of betting regulations but is viewed as one of the Premier League’s most talented centre forwards.
Four goals in nine comeback appearances have attracted the attention of England manager Southgate, though it’s Toney’s long-term future that has dominated headlines over the past few months.
90min revealed in November that Toney’s representatives had met with Arsenal and Chelsea over a potential move, while London rivals Tottenham Hotspur are also known admirers after Harry Kane’s exit last summer. Last year, he revealed he would be open to joining Arsenal or boyhood club Liverpool.
But speaking to Sky Sports ahead of Brentford’s crunch visit to fellow relegation candidates Burnley, Toney threw a different club into the mix when asked about what his ideal summer would look like.
“If Brentford was to sell me they make their money, I move to Madrid and it’s all good,” Toney remarked.
He added of his aims before the season’s end: “We [Brentford] start winning games, we win every game between now and the rest of the season. I’ve scored 20 goals, we’ve kept nine clean sheets, job’s a good’un.
“Then I’m obviously in the mix for the Euros, and then we win the Euros. And then just let things fall into place.”
Brentford boss Thomas Frank admitted in February that Toney is likely to be sold this summer, but did hint that the club know the player’s worth and will not compromise into selling him below their valuation.
“It is relatively obvious that Ivan Toney will probably be sold this summer,” the Dane said. “We also know what he is worth. I don’t think there are many strikers in the world who are better than him right now.
“He is a really skilled striker who is in his prime football age. Personally, as a coach, I would prefer to keep Toney but one day it could be fun to see him on a top team.
“This winter we actually had no offers for him, but it will surprise me if there aren’t a lot of clubs that will be interested in him.”
Brentford will hope Toney can first fire them to Premier League safety, ending a poor run of form that has seen the Bees lose seven of their last 10 games while conceding 24 goals in the process.
