Chelsea: Romano confirms ‘priority target’ with Toney ‘one to watch’ as ‘last-minute opportunity’

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano claims Brentford’s Ivan Toney is ‘one to watch’ in the final days of the summer transfer window amid interest from Chelsea.

The Blues are the biggest spenders in Europe this summer but they still have business to do as they remain in the market for a new striker.

Chelsea have been linked with several potential options in recent months and England international Toney has been earmarked as a potential target.

The 28-year-old was one of the best strikers in the Premier League during the 2022/23 campaign as he scored 20 goals in his 33 appearances.

Toney missed most of the 2023/24 campaign as he was serving a nine-month betting ban and he struggled after returning to action in January. He only scored four goals in his 17 Premier League appearances during the run-in.

Despite this, Toney has been heavily linked with Big Six clubs this summer as he has entered the final year of his contract and Brentford could do with cashing in on their prized asset.

Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli have recently emerged as his most likely destination. They have had a bid worth around £38m rejected by Brentford, who are holding out for around £50m.

READ: Ten Premier League players who could be begging for moves as transfer deadline day looms

However, Chelsea remains in the running to sign Toney. While Romano claims he’s “one to watch” in the next couple of days, he also says he’s not their “priority target”.

“Ivan Toney will be one to watch in the final days of the summer transfer window because there is still interest from Saudi,” Romano said in his Daily Briefing column . “Al-Ahli have his name next to Victor Osimhen as a potential option for the final days.

“The talks remain ongoing for Ivan Toney and Brentford, but he could also be an option for English clubs, a late-minute opportunity, in the event of not going to Saudi.

“There are many rumours about Chelsea too and he could be one of the names under consideration, but only in the event of Chelsea not signing Victor Osimhen themselves – as he remains their priority target.

“So, Ivan Toney could definitely be one to watch in the final days. It’s important to remember that Brentford are still asking for important money. They rejected a bid of around £37m-£38m from Al-Ahli in the past week, but conversations remain active with the club. Let’s see what happens there, and with the other clubs in England.”

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Romano has also provided an update on the Jadon Sancho situation as the Man Utd star would be “more than happy” to join Chelsea.

“What about Chelsea? They consider Sancho an opportunity, and if Man United want to take one player in the deal, such as Raheem Sterling, Ben Chilwell or any other player who could leave Chelsea, then they would be more than happy to do the deal,” Romano added.

“Chelsea’s position is that they would be more than happy to sign Sancho, but it has to also mean United taking one of the players they don’t want in the squad.

“To summarise, Sancho is wanted by both Chelsea and Juventus – both clubs are working on the deal but with different perspectives. Chelsea will only consider the Sancho deal with a swap including one of their players who are not part of the project, like Raheem Sterling.”