Premier League rival confirms potential £6.3m transfer windfall for Newcastle United

Thomas Frank has revealed “it is obvious” that Brentford will offload star striker Ivan Toney in the summer.

The former Newcastle United man only returned from a lengthy gambling ban last month but talk has intensified about a potential exit. Arsenal and Chelsea are two Premier League clubs linked with a £70million move for the England international.

At 27, Toney is in the prime of his career having struggled to make the grade at St James’ Park. In truth, Rafa Benitez did not give him a chance as the remit was to win Premier League promotion.

The more experienced Dwight Gayle was brought in, with Toney shipped out on loan to Barnsley, Shrewsbury Town, Scunthorpe United and Wigan Athletic before joining Peterborough United in 2018. It was at Posh where he developed into a prolific goalscorer before Brentford - then a Championship side - signed him four years ago.

Toney’s ruthless streak has translated to the top flight - making him one of Newcastle’s most costly mistakes in recent years. But a cunning sell-on clause means the Magpies would recoup £6.3million if Brentford received £70million - their reported price tag.

Speaking last month, Peterborough owner Darragh MacAnthony revealed Newcastle are set for 30 per cent of their sell-on fee from Brentford, also understood to be 30 per cent. He said: “Newcastle didn’t want to sell Ivan Toney to us, they wanted him to move on loan. But we don’t loan strikers so we invited Newcastle to share in Ivan’s future success with a sell-on fee. They agreed and they wanted 50 per cent of any future transfer profit.

“That was never going to happen as we were paying a fee for Ivan as well, so we settled on 30 per cent. We paid Newcastle a transfer fee of £350,000 spread over three years. We have received £10million so far from Brentford and we will receive X amount – I’m not allowed to say the number – of any future profit and Newcastle will receive 30 per cent of what we get from us.

“We earn money every time Ivan moves and so do Newcastle. That’s how these deals are structured and I’m all for it. It’s like a chain reaction and it’s the best thing."

Bees manager Frank has now revealed that Toney will “likely” leave at the end of the season. As it stands, the forward has just 16 months remaining on his current Brentford contract.

“It is quite obvious that Ivan Toney will most likely be sold in the summer,” he told Tipsbladet. “It can be expensive to sell your best player, but on the other hand, I also know that by summer, he'll only have a year left on his contract with us.

"We also know what he's worth. I don't think there are many strikers in the world who are better than him right now. He's a really good striker who is in his prime footballing age. Personally, as a coach, I would prefer to keep Toney, but one day it could be fun to see him at a top team."