Journalist Simon Phillips claims that Aston Villa is “looking” to recruit Brentford striker Ivan Toney in an attempt to replace Jhon Duran this summer.
He implies that Toney’s future at Brentford is still up in the air because the England international is hoping his performance at Euro 2024 would open up a transfer to a Premier League outfit.
While Brentford is reportedly expecting £60 million for the 28-year-old this summer, it is anticipated that he will be available for roughly £40 million. Villa has recently shown interest in the player.
Only 18 months after Duran’s arrival from Chicago Fire, Unai Emery’s team is expected to part ways with the Colombian international and may attempt to replace him with a new player.
At Villa, the 20-year-old was unable to leave an impression Park, in his first full season at Birmingham, was finding it difficult to compete with Ollie Watkins for playing time.
Fabrizio Romano reports that Duran has given the go-ahead for the transfer to proceed and is now willing to leave Villa for West Ham United this summer. Toney’s main grievance with Chelsea is that not all Chelsea players would support signing him, despite the fact that he does have supporters and some think he is the kind of striker the team needs.
But, given that Aston Villa is now considering Toney as a summer possibility, they may want to step things up if they want to move on with Toney. They’re holding off on selling Jon Duran.”
In contrast to Chelsea, Aston Villa might entice Toney—whom his manager Thomas Frank has called “world-class”—with a chance to play Champions League football. The Birmingham team finished fourth in the league the previous year, earning qualification to the esteemed competition for the first time ever.
While Toney, 28, is currently focused on making an impression in Gareth Southgate’s group and waiting for the final against Spain, Phillips expects that the transfer speculation will intensify following the Euros.
Villa’s position on Toney may hinge on Ollie Watkins’s status at the team; according to Phillips, England’s semi-final hero has drawn interest from a number of teams this summer, including Chelsea.
Villa is anticipated to demand a high price for their star striker Watkins ahead of a landmark season for the club, therefore Watkins is believed to be an expensive choice for the Blues.