Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur target sold by Newcastle for £650,000 ‘lined up’ to make £80m move

Former Newcastle United striker Ivan Toney is reportedly being lined up to make an £80million move away from Brentford next summer.

The England international failed to make an impact during a three-year stay at St James Park as he made four first-team appearances before going to on to spend time on loan with the likes of Barnsley, Scunthorpe United and Wigan Athletic.

A permanent £650,000 switch to Peterborough United followed in August 2018 before Toney really hit his stride by firing Brentford into the Premier League after joining the Bees in a £4million move in September 2020. Toney had scored 68 goals and provided 21 assists in 124 appearances for Brentford prior to receiving an eight-month suspension after he admitted to 232 breaches of the Football Association’s betting rules.

Speaking about the ban with the Diary of a CEO Podcast, the former Magpie revealed missing out on England’s World Cup squad felt like ‘the biggest punishment’ but he expressed his determination to ‘come back stronger’ once his suspension is served.

He said: “I feel like, yes I’m banned now, but the biggest punishment for me was missing out on playing at the World Cup. I felt like somebody’s out to get me at that time, to stop me from playing for England. Looking back on what I’ve done, would I change some bits probably, but it is what it is. I’ll take full responsibility for the punishment I’m getting now. I know for a fact I’ll come back stronger than this, I’m better than I was before.”

Toney will return to action in January but a report in The Times has suggested Brentford are ‘braced’ to receive several offers for the striker after he was ‘identified’ by a number of Premier League rivals as a potential signing. However, with the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur showing interest, any suitor would have to part with an eye-watering fee for Toney with the report suggested the Bees rated the striker at around £80m.

The report also reveals Toney is set to change agents and join the CAA Stellar agency that represents the likes of Jack Grealish, Luke Shaw and Real Madrid star Eduardo Camavinga.