£9m Newcastle United transfer clause furiously dismissed by chairman - Arsenal & Chelsea move 'could happen'

Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony has furiously fired back at the "complete misinformation" surrounding Ivan Toney's potential exit from Brentford.

The 27-year-old will return to action later this month after serving an eight-month ban for breaching betting rules. Toney has been linked with a January move to Arsenal or Chelsea, and Sky Sports News claims it could happen, though Bees boss Thomas Frank has joked about a £100million price tag.

Sky reporter Mark McAdam went on to claim that Peterborough United, who sold Toney to Brentford in 2020 for £10m, would be entitled to a 30 per-cent sell-on. McAdam added that Newcastle, who offloaded Toney to the Posh for £500,000, would also benefit heavily from a sale.

McAdam said in full: "We know that both Arsenal and Chelsea are in the market for a top-class striker, which Ivan Toney is of course. It could happen, however we know that Thomas Frank has joked about £100 million plus. That's the price tag that's on his head, although Brentford don't want to sell him.

"One thing I want to add to this, Peterborough and Newcastle will be monitoring and watching this situation very closely because it was Peterborough that sold Ivan Toney to Brentford, they have a 30% sell-on and 30% of that goes to Newcastle. So, for example, if he went for £100 million, £30 million would go to Peterborough and £9 million to Newcastle, so there will be a lot of clubs hoping he makes a big money move."

MacAnthony, however, was quick to hit back. The Irishman posted on C: "---- me all these people in the media have my email to ask the question. Complete misinformation. That even had me double-checking the contract just now & the sell-on clause. Nobody pays £10 million for a L1 signing & pays 30% sell on… nobody.

Newcastle signed Toney from Northampton Town in 2015 but made just four appearances on Tyneside before a number of loan spells eventually led to a permanent switch to Peterborough.

Toney's 49 goals in 94 appearances for Posh earned him a move to Brentford, where he has gone on to score 68 goals, 32 of which have been in the Premier League. In March last year, the striker also made his England debut.