Chelsea’s quest to sign a striker this summer has taken another turn.
According to Sky Sports, the Blues have made a move to land Brentford striker Ivan Toney despite earlier reports that the England forward could be on the way to sign for Saudi Pro League side Al Ahli.
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The 28-year-old returned to Premier League action in January after his eight month ban for betting offences, scoring four goals in his first five games, including a smart free-kick against Nottingham Forest on his first game back. However, he finished the campaign without a goal in his final 12 league games and is yet to be included in the Brentford squad in 2024/25 as he looks to secure a move away from the club.
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News broke that his next move was set to be a transfer to Saudi Arabia and three time winners Al Ahli, but with the club yet to reach an agreement with Brentford, it seems like he could be staying in West London after all.
With Romelu Lukaku on his way out of the club and Nicolas Jackson and 19-year-old Marc Guiu as their only current options up front, it is clear the Blues need re-inforcements in that area and it looks like Toney could be that man. Victor Osimhen is a name that has been heavily linked with the London side this summer and although there are rumours that a move to the 2021 Champions League winners would be his preffered choice, it now looks unlikely with the likes of PSG circling for his signature.
Despite Nicolas Jackson scoring 15 non-penalty goals and providing six assists in 37 Premier League appearances, the Blues need a different type of striker to compete with Senegalese forward and give them a different type of option up front.
Like Lukaku, Ivan Toney is a complete centre-forward who can dominate opponents physically and embarrass them technically. An ice-cool finisher and elite ball-striker, Toney’s self-confidence and mentality suggests he would thrive under the pressure of being Chelsea’s number nine.
Toney’s play style could elevate the goal output from Chelsea’s wide forwards and the Blues would be getting a target man with an eye for a set piece. As well as scoring six of his seven penalties in the league since the start of 2022/23, he has also scored the joint-most direct free-kicks in that time, scoring three of his 17 attempts with an impressive conversion rate of 17.6%.
During his last full season in 2022/23, Toney finished the campaign with the most flick-ons (107), the second most lay-offs (54) and scored the third most goals (20) of any player in the competition, meaning not only will the Blues be getting a goalscorer but also a fantastic link up player which the likes of Pedro Neto, Noni Madueke and Mykhailo Mudryk will thrive off.