Chelsea should make a loan move for the former Brentford striker.placeholder image
Chelsea should make a loan move for the former Brentford striker. | AFP via Getty Images
Enzo Maresca and Thomas Tuchel could both be wanting the same thing come January.
Chelsea can do themselves and England a solid this January by pushing for a loan move for former Brentford striker Ivan Toney. There have been murmurs of interest in the 29-year-old and a swoop would make sense on more than one front.
The Blues splurged £90 million on new strikers this summer with Joao Pedro arriving from Chelsea and Liam Delap from Ipswich Town. The former started quickly but is now without a goal in his last four Premier League matches and has the versatility to be moved away from the central striking role.
Meanwhile, Delap suffered a serious hamstring injury and is set to be sidelined until December. On his return, Enzo Maresca will have to manage his minutes and it’s important to remember that this is a 22-year-old with just one season of Premier League football under his belt.
Chelsea must push for Ivan Toney transfer
With Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson gone, Chelsea are looking a little light up front. Maresca has leaned on Tyrique George, but he is a 19 year old the club were ready to sell for £22 million this summer.
Come January, after the bruising festive period and ahead of the vital run-in, Chelsea must move for a trusted Premier League bagsman. If not, they risk losing steam over the back end of the campaign.
TeamTALK has suggested that Chelsea, alongside Tottenham Hotspur, are looking at a loan move for Toney. The striker left Brentford for Al Ahli on a £40 million transfer in the summer of 2024, with the Blues credited with serious interest then, and helped his new club win the AFC Champions League Elite last season.
Toney has eight goals in 10 appearances already this season and there’s no doubting his ability in the Premier League. The former Bees man has 36 goals in 85 top flight outings to his name.
Ivan Toney must earn Tuchel respect ahead of World Cup
The reason why a loan move for Toney would work so well, is that the player would surely arrive at Stamford Bridge motivated to impress ahead of the World Cup. Debates over the international break have centred on a back-up plan or successor for Harry Kane, and Toney must feel that is a role he could fill.
The striker is still just 29 years old and can be playing at the top level for several more years, even if a move to Saudi Arabia may suggest a loss of ambition. Toney may be happy at Al Ahli and claim that the division is ‘on par’ with the Premier League, but at the moment it seems as if Thomas Tuchel does not agree.
Toney was not included in the England squad for the international break. A loan move back to the Premier League and a run of form over the back end of the season would surely see Toney book a spot on the plane to the World Cup.
It’s a transfer that makes sense for Chelsea, the player and for England too. The Three Lions need another out-and-out striker fit and firing at the top level for the World Cup.
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