Still Undergoing Sentences On Gambling, This Player Has Been Hunted By Chelsea And Arsenal

Chelsea and Arsenal are hunting down Brentford's Ivan Toney who is currently serving a ban on playing. (Twitter @BrentfordFC)

JAKARTA - Brentford striker Ivan Toney is still serving a eight-month ban for gambling cases. But Toney has been a fugitive for London, Chelsea and Arsenal clubs.

Toney has not returned to the field because his sentence is not over yet. But he has returned to Brentford and has been undergoing training as usual since last September.

Because he was not included in the squad that was prepared to play a match, Toney always entered the opposing team in every exercise.

Brentford himself was hit hard by a ban on playing that Toney received for violating gambling-related rules.

The FA sentenced him to May 2023. He was only free and could play again in January 2024 or to coincide with the opening of the player transfer window.

Despite being sanctioned and not playing for a long time, Toney has instead become the target of English Premier League clubs. Yes, Chelsea and Arsenal are scrambling to get the 27-year-old striker.

Brentford himself is ready to release his players. Moreover, the team is able to adapt to playing without a striker. In addition, manager Thomas Frank already has a player who can replace Toney.

However, Brentford set a fairly high price of 80 million pounds or approximately 1.5 trillion rupiah for Toney.

The price was not cheap, but Toney was one of the reliable goal machines. Last season, he was able to show his sharpness by collecting 20 goals in the Premier League competition. The score was only lost by Erling Haaland and Harry Kane.

Despite serving a fairly long sentence, the player who has only played for the England national team hopes to strengthen the Three Lions at Euro 2024.

Joining Arsenal or Chelsea provides an opportunity for Toney to show off his skills in order to attract the attention of national team manager Gareth Southgate.