Brentford leave Ivan Toney out of Premier League opener due to transfer interest

Brentford have kicked-off their new Premier League season without Ivan Toney, who was left out of their squad due to transfer interest. Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has revealed on X that Saudi Pro League giants Al-Ahli have added the striker to their shortlist for the summer, but has interest from other clubs too.

The Bees are at home to Crystal Palace today and at the time of writing, are leading the match 1-0. Bryan Mbeumo broke the deadlock for Thomas Frank’s side after 29 minutes into the kick-off as Toney’s absence hasn’t really been felt so far. However, the 28-year-old may not be seen again in their shirt too, given his uncertain future right now.

Al-Ahli, who finished third in the Saudi top-flight last season, are looking to bolster their attacking options with the signing of Toney, who has scored 67 goals in 128 league games for Brentford, including 36 in 83 top-flight matches since their promotion in 2021. The England international is in the final year of his contract with the Bees right now and the side could cash in now instead of losing him on a free transfer next year.

With Arsenal and Chelsea also reportedly interested, it would be hard for them to keep him in West London this season. Before the kick-off, Brentford manager Frank had also spoken about transfer interests in him, which he revealed was the basis for dropping him from their lineup for their opening league game. He said:

“A lot of things are going on with Ivan, especially with transfers – there’s a lot of transfer interest. Because of all that, we’ve decided not to include him in the squad.”

Brentford are looking to avoid opening day loss for the fourth season in a row

Since gaining promotion to the Premier League in 2021, Brentford haven’t lost an opening game of their league campaign. They marked their return to the top-flight with a 2-0 defeat of Arsenal in 2021, followed by a pair of 2-2 draws to Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur respectively. Now, the Bees are on course for a narrow win over Crystal Palace, unless the latter manage to find the equalizer in the closing stages.

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