The 27-year-old Ivan Toni is once again caught in a transfer rumor. On November 1st, the British Evening Standard revealed that Chelsea and Arsenal, the two giants in the Premier League, are competing and hope to sign Tony in January next year. Brentford offered Tony a price of 80 million pounds, and the players sought to leave the team and play for a better club.
There is no doubt about Ivan Tony’s ability. In the Premier League in 2022-23, Tony scored 20 goals, ranking third in the top scorer list, only behind Harland (36 goals) and Kane (28 goals). During his Premier League career, Tony scored 32 goals in 68 games, and his efficiency was not bad. However, Tony got into big trouble: he bet on a football match, was banned by the FA for eight months, and will be released on January 17th next year.
The Evening Standard pointed out that brentford was willing to sell Ivan Toni for 80 million pounds. Objectively speaking, this price tag is somewhat inflated: Tony’s contract is only one and a half years, the player’s valuation in Germany is 30 million pounds, and he has not played a formal game for half a year.
There is no room for a big bodhisattva in a small temple. For his future, Ivan Tony is very clear: he wants to leave brentford and go to an "elite club". To this end, Ivan Toni also changed his agent and let Banert (who used to be Bell’s agent) handle his own transfer.
According to the analysis of the Evening Standard, both Arsenal and Chelsea intend to make moves in January next year:
Arsenal’s goal is still to compete for the Premier League title. If a scorer with 10 goals in the middle of the game is introduced in January, it will be of great help to the championship. Although Arsenal have Jesus and Nketiya, they are not prolific centers. Arsenal manager Artta appreciates Ivan Toni’s scoring ability. This summer, Arsenal spent 200 million pounds to bring in Tony in the winter window. The Gunners need to sell players to raise funds first.
Chelsea, with deep pockets, also intends to supplement the front line. Chelsea spent 1 billion pounds, completely overthrown and rebuilt, and there was not much improvement. This season, the Premier League only scored 12 points in 10 games and scored only 1.3 goals per game. In January next year, Jackson will play in the African Cup of Nations. Chelsea, which was originally weak in attack, needs Tony’s help.
Tony, who returned from the ban in January, hopes to complete the transfer in the winter window, seize the opportunity of half a year, strive for more goals, win the trust of English coach southgate and be selected for the European Cup 2024. As an excellent striker in the Premier League, Tony has only played for England once, which is not in line with his strength.
