IVAN TONEY will NOT leave Brentford this month, according to Peterborough chief Barry Fry.
Toney, 27, has been heavily linked with a move away from the Gtech Community Stadium in recent weeks.
Arsenal and Chelsea have expressed an interest in signing him, with both clubs in desperate need of a new striker.
However, Fry – who played an integral role in recruiting Toney for Peterborough back in 2018 – is not convinced that he will move on from Brentford just yet.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Posh’s director of football said: “He certainly won’t be going in January if you look at where Brentford are in the league and the players they’ve got out injury-wise.
“They need Ivan to keep them in the league. Also, the clubs who are interested, who are four of the main clubs in the country, with Financial Fair Play they don’t have the money at the moment.”
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Brentford are expected to demand £80million to £100m for Toney.
And due to a sell-on clause in his contract, Peterborough will receive a chunk of the transfer fee.
When asked how much the League One side could receive if Toney sold for £100m, Fry responded: “That would be a lot of money. We would definitely get over £10m.”
The Peterborough chief also joked that Brentford have grown “fed up” of him because he keeps asking for updates on the striker’s transfer situation.
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He said: “I phone Brentford every day of the week. They’re fed up of me ringing them.
“It will be like winning the lottery if they sell Ivan.
“I saw Ivan play for Northampton as a 17-year-old against our under-18s, and he got in the team very early.
“We tried to buy him when he went to Newcastle, but there was no way he was going to Peterborough over Newcastle.
“We watched his progress and he got loaned out to about eight different clubs and we eventually enticed him to the club.”
Toney is set to return from his eight-month betting ban on January 17.
That means he will be allowed to play for Brentford against Nottingham Forest three days later.
Tony showed he was on the comeback train when he bagged a hat-trick for Brentford B as they ran out 5-1 winners in a training ground friendly over Southampton Under-23s on Saturday.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
