Thomas Frank is adamant Ivan Toney will not leave Brentford in the January transfer window unless the Bees receive an “unbelievable” offer for the striker.
Toney scored 20 Premier League goals as Brentford secured a top-half finish last season, but he is yet to feature this campaign after receiving an eight-month ban for breaching the Football Association’s gambling rules.
Frank’s side have struggled in their talisman’s absence, losing their last five games to slip to 16th in the Premier League table, sitting just four points clear of the relegation zone.
Both Chelsea and Arsenal have been strongly linked with a move for Toney, who returns from his suspension midway through the month, but Frank is refusing to consider the possibility of him leaving.
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Asked whether he expected Toney to remain at the Gtech Community Stadium beyond the end of this month, Frank said: “The very short answer, yes.
“He is a Brentford player, he is here. Clearly we’re missing a few offensive players, I can’t see why we would sell him and I would love to have him for a longer time.
“If I ever, ever could recommend that, and it’s not for me to say yes or no, then it needs to be an unbelievable price. So he will stay here.”
Asked if he had a figure in mind, Frank simply said: “You have a good imagination.”
The first three of 2024 ????@EmiratesFACup | @premierleague pic.twitter.com/VH33SZDB43
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) January 2, 2024
Brentford have been hampered by injuries to key players including Bryan Mbeumo, Rico Henry, Aaron Hickey, Kevin Schade and Kristoffer Ajer in recent weeks, and Frank expects the Bees to be active in the market in order to ward off the threat of a relegation battle.
“I’m convinced we will be active in the market,” Frank said. “How much, which position, let’s see. I expect we will be active and it’s pretty clear we need a left-back.”
