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Brentford rejected Saudi bid for Ivan Toney before leaving striker out of Crystal Palace win
Thomas Frank confirmed ‘transfer interest’ was the reason why forward was not named in his squad for the opening game of the season
Brentford dropped Ivan Toney from their matchday squad after they rejected an offer from Saudi Arabian club Al Ahli at the end of last week, Telegraph Sport understands.
Al Ahli remain interested in signing Toney but an agreement is not thought to be close, even though the 28-year-old did not feature in Brentford’s 2-1 win over Crystal Palace.
Thomas Frank, the Brentford head coach, refused to say if Toney has played his last match for the club and admitted he won’t miss answering questions about the England striker.
Toney has been a crucial member of Brentford’s squad in recent seasons but has just one year remaining on his contract, meaning this summer represents the club’s last chance to sell him for a significant fee.
It was expected that Toney would generate serious interest from fellow Premier League teams but, so far this summer, Brentford have not fielded any proposals from English clubs.
It remains to be seen whether that situation changes in the final weeks of the transfer window, especially if Al Ahli are able to reach a broad agreement with Brentford over the value of a player who has a good scoring record in the top flight.
Toney’s time in west London has also been a controversial one with his eight-month ban for breaking Football Association betting regulations seeing him miss much of last season as the club endured a difficult campaign that saw them only just avoid a battle with relegation with a 16th-place finish.
Brentford impressed without Toney against Palace, with fellow forwards Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa both finding the net.
“There are various things going on with Ivan with transfer rumours and activity and because of all that we decided not to include him in the squad,” said Frank.
“I will always miss Ivan as a player and a person but as for all the questions asked about him, I won’t miss that. That [the decision] was the club and me. It was made on Thursday. We thought it was the best thing. Ivan always wants to play.
“He is a top player, probably our best player over a long spell but like any good player one day they will leave the club and somebody needs to step up.
“Every time Ivan has not played Wissa has stepped up and done well. Bryan started last season so well but got injured but is now back up to speed.”
Wissa has caught the eye of Wolves this summer, as revealed by Telegraph Sport last week, but Frank insisted the forward will not be leaving. “He’s staying, he has shown he can step up when Ivan is out and he did so again today,” said the Brentford head coach.