Arsenal have had “internal discussions” about signing Brentford striker Ivan Toney after being made aware that the England international is “interested” in playing for the Gunners, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano.

Writing in his Daily Briefing Substack column, Romano said that Toney is very keen on making the switch to the Emirates, but the main stumbling block in a transfer going ahead will be the price tag:

“Toney would be interested in joining Arsenal. Of course Arsenal are aware of Ivan Toney’s stance. It’s not about him telling Arsenal that he wants to join them, but of course, they know the player would like to join. But there’s still the price tag issue as we said many times.”

“Also, Toney has always very respectful to Brentford so it depends on the clubs reaching an agreement. It looks difficult for Arsenal because of Financial Fair Play, and of course, they have David Raya on loan from Brentford, which could be another complication. Arsenal are having internal discussions about signing Toney.”

A loan deal has already been ruled out for Toney

With Brentford demanding upwards of £80m for their striker, it’s difficult to see how Arsenal could fund a move during the January transfer window due to FFP.

There have been some suggestions that the Gunners could request a loan with an option/obligation to buy Toney, which would work the same way as Raya’s deal, but Romano has already ruled out such a proposal.

Arsenal would have to fund a move through player sales

To sign Toney next month, it looks like the London club will have to raise the money by selling players first. There have been some rumours about Eddie Nketiah in recent days.

With reports suggesting that the striker could be sold for around £40m, that could help fund a deal for Toney.