Tottenham ‘step up’ interest in reliable attacker, sparking counter response from fellow Prem side

Any hopes Tottenham Hotspur have of signing Ivan Toney from Brentford might be short lived after the latest update regarding the striker’s future.

A report on Tuesday detailed Tottenham’s interest in Toney. The striker has done well with Brentford in both the Championship and now the Premier League. He has even been on the verge of a breakthrough with the England national team, although he remains uncapped for now.

If he does manage to get into Gareth Southgate’s squad for the World Cup next month, it would be another marker of how he has progressed in recent years.

Indeed, he already has a few clubs bigger than Brentford keeping an eye on his progress. Tottenham are the latest to be showing an interest under the orders of Antonio Conte.

However, just over 24 hours after the news of Tottenham’s interest emerged, it is now being claimed that Toney is in talks over a new contract with Brentford.

According to Football Insider, Brentford have begun talking to Toney after becoming aware that Tottenham – and potentially other suitors – could “step up” their interest.

His current contract expires in 2025, so Brentford want to extend it to ward off interested parties. In the process, they would also be willing to give Toney better wages.

Whereas they currently pay him around £30,000 per week, he could earn closer to £50,000 per week within a new agreement.

The report does not provide any detail of how long a new contract would last for the 26-year-old. He would be facing a big decision as to whether to commit what could be his prime years to Brentford, or to explore his options with other, more powerful clubs.

Ivan Toney might be better off sticking with Brentford

Of course, Tottenham are currently competing in the Champions League, whereas European football would seem like a distant dream for Brentford. Still, playing regularly as a first-choice player for a Premier League side is a good achievement in itself for someone who was in League One as recently as 2020.

Therefore, it may be worth listening to Brentford’s offer of a contract extension. Toney will have quite a few factors to weigh up. Could the regular gametime he gets for Thomas Frank’s side be more beneficial to his chances of making an international breakthrough than being a rotation player at a bigger club?

At Tottenham, for example, he would have to compete with Harry Kane, Richarlison and Son Heung-min for a place in Antonio Conte’s attack. He is already obviously behind Kane in the England pecking order. Thus, playing less than him at club level would not do much to change that.

However, representing one of the country’s biggest clubs – and getting to play in a UEFA competition – would be appealing in its own way for the former Northampton Town forward.

Overall, Toney will have to think about what ambitions matter the most to him before making any commitment regarding his future.

READ MORE: Conte gives hope to Tottenham ‘excellent investment’ who has already enabled ‘miraculous’ achievement