Premier League giants could strike deal for £80m-rated Ivan Toney despite his ban: Reports

Chelsea are reportedly looking to make a move for Brentford star Ivan Toney this summer. The Englishman is banned until January, but the Blues are willing to go big for the forward, who has been slapped with a £80 million asking price.

As per a report in the Independent, Chelsea want to make another statement signing this summer. Toney is seen as the ideal forward for Mauricio Pochettino's system and the manager has asked for his signature.

Brentford are also willing to sell, but are looking for an offer in the region of £80 million. He is currently suspended for breaching betting rules, and will only be available from mid-January.

The striker spoke on The Diary of a CEO podcast podcast and admitted that he was open to the idea of joining another club. He said:

"The next club I go to, if I was to move, would be the right club. I've been a Liverpool fan my whole life… but from young, I've liked Arsenal. I've liked watching Arsenal and how they play and how passionate their fans are. I'm a Liverpool boy at heart."

Ivan Toney will be eligible to play again from January 17, 2024.

Chelsea target Ivan Toney on his ban from football

Ivan Toney was banned by The FA for eight months after he breached their betting rules 232 times. The issues came to light last year after and he was initially set for a 15-month ban.

However, The FA halved the punishment after he pleaded guilty. Speaking on The Diary of a CEO podcast, Toney claimed that he was not involved in match-fixing and said:

"It was far from match-fixing. I'm sure there were certain articles saying match-fixing but that's the media for you, making it a big talking point. They [the FA] wanted information from as far back as 2015. I didn't have the phone I had back then to give you information but I wanted to cooperate how I can to let you investigate what you want to investigate."

He added:

"When the club actually pulled me into a room and said the FA have been in touch and they want to speak to you. I said, 'OK, no problem' and he said, 'Have you done any bets whilst you've been at Brentford and have you been betting on football?'. I was like, 'No, I haven't done no bets fixing football. He was like, 'Well the FA want to speak to you, don't delete nothing on your phone because there's a system where they can get back old messages."

Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal are also reportedly interested in signing Ivan Toney, but are waiting for him to make his comeback.