Arsenal make transfer ‘U-turn’ as Lineker tells Arteta’s side to sign ‘super talented’ £50m PL star
A report claims Arsenal have made a ‘signing U-turn’, while Gary Lineker has urged the Premier League giants to sign Ivan Toney from Brentford.
Toney was not involved as Brentford beat Crystal Palace 2-1 in their opening game of the 2024/25 Premier League season on Sunday afternoon.
This performance showed Brentford won’t miss the England international, who was left out amid intensifying transfer speculation.
The 28-year-old has entered the final year of his contract and is being targeted by Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli.
Over the weekend, journalist Ben Jacobs claimed the Middle East side have failed with a £35m bid as Brentford are holding out for over £50m.
He said: “Ivan Toney is a top target for Al-Ahli, but a deal isn’t yet close. Toney wants a salary of around €22m to consider a move. He wanted to play vs. Palace. Brentford have already rejected a bid below their £50m+ valuation.”
Arsenal have been heavily linked with Toney this summer. Heading into this transfer window, they were expected to sign a new forward but a report from Football Insider claims they have ‘made a striker signing U-turn’.
‘Even if Eddie Nketiah leaves the club before the 31st August cut-off, the Gunners are not planning to dive into the market for a late deal.
‘Mikel Arteta believes he has enough top options and quality in attack for the upcoming season as Arsenal aim to challenge to win the Premier League.’
Despite this, Micah Richards claims Toney would “give Arsenal something different”.
“You know who I would go and buy? Ivan Toney. He was left out obviously and there’s talk about him going to Saudi,” Richards said on The Rest is Football.
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“He might not be ideal for Arsenal’s style, how they want to press and play, but he’s a different option from off the bench.
“He would give them something different, a different dimension. Especially looking at the numbers, he’s got a year left on his contract and there was talk about him going for only £15m.
“For a player who was valued at £70m a couple of seasons ago. In terms of what he can offer, I think he would be a good fit.”
Lineker meanwhile thinks TOney “would fit in at Arsenal as he is “super talented”.
“I like Ivan Toney a lot,” Lineker added. “I think he’s super talented and gives you a completely different from what else they’ve got.
“He’s a real threat and technically a really good footballer so I think he would fit in at Arsenal.
“Once you’re at the stage where a player is left out, the writing does appear to be on the wall.”
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Alan Shearer added: “If it was up to me, I would look to bring one in. Listening to Mikel it doesn’t sound like they’re going to bring one in. They might bring in [Mikel] Merino from Sociedad.
“He’s looking for a striker to improve on the numbers of Havertz, Trossard, Saka and what the team did last year. Can they do find that player? I don’t see why not.
“I think from Brentford’s point of view they probably have to sell Ivan Toney. They can’t afford to wait another six months and let him leave for free.
“I would be amazed if he went for £15m, I would imagine it would be more like £40m.
“The only downside is his replacement has got a bad injury and will be out for a while so do they have time to bring someone else in? But it does sound like he’s going to leave in the next couple of weeks.”
