Thomas Frank has dropped the biggest hint yet that Brentford are planning for life with Ivan Toney despite Arsenal's interest in their prize striker.
Toney, 27, will be available for selection again in mid-January after serving an eight month ban for breaching betting rules, but the Bees are braced for plenty of transfer interest in their talisman, who plundered 20 Premier League goals last season.
Mirror Football revealed back in September that Toney had been identified as Arsenal's primary target ahead of the winter transfer window and the Gunners are expected to firm up their interest in the coming weeks. However, Frank's latest comments indicate that he isn't planning to lose Toney's services.
The Bees are set to lose Yoane Wissa during the Africa Cup of Nations and Frank described Toney as a "like-for-like replacement" ahead of his impending return to action.
When he was asked about Toney's return on Saturday afternoon, Frank said: "Very important. The next game we don’t have [Yoane] Wissa because he’s at the Africa Cup of Nations, so that’s like-for-like. We need an offensive player with the injuries we have. Of course, he’s a top player and we look forward very much to getting him back."
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A new report from The Independent has highlighted that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is now set to prioritise a move for Toney after mulling over the possibility of bolstering other areas of his squad this month.
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Thomas Frank has hinted that Brentford striker Ivan Toney will remain at the club beyond January (Paul Dennis/TGS Photo/REX/Shutterstock)There are no guarantees that a deal will be struck, though, with the Gunners needing to be mindful of their current Financial Fair Play commitments.
Brentford are also unlikely to want to part with their star striker, either, given they have slipped towards the relegation zone amid a worrying run of results. The Bees have now lost seven of their last eight league matches, but Frank called for calm at Selhurst Park.
He said: "I would say I’m burning inside because I lost a football match, but I know the quality of our squad and I know some players are coming back. Of course, we’d like to win a game soon, but I also know that I need to remain calm and be in control of everything.
"That’s what we’ve done the five years I’ve been here. It’s luckily been mostly ups and a few downs. We all come through them in a good them."
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