Arsenal and West Ham £100m target attracts Manchester United interest

First it was Arsenal, then it was West Ham and now Manchester United have put their names forward for the Brentford and England striker Ivan Toney. The 28-year-old bounced back immediately following his eight-month ban for breaching FA betting rules and has now just scored his first goal for England following the Three Lions 2-2 draw against Belgium.

The Red Devils are reputedly at the very early stages of their transfer strategy decisions but several names have been banded around already following the recent investment from Sir Jim Ratcliffe. Toney is now the latest name with the view being that he could relieve the pressure currently on rising star Rasmus Hojlund as well as 26-year-old Marcus Rashford.

Speaking to CaughtOffSide, Fabrizio Romano said of Toney's situation: “It’s just one of the options to be considered and discussed internally. As I said here multiple times, Man United are still in early stages of the process to decide which striker they want to sign; experienced or young. Talks are gonna take place internally, Toney will be one of the names available on the market so could be one to watch."

Of course, Toney has been picking up huge amounts of interest in recent months with Thomas Frank resolved to say goodbye at the end of this campaign. But it does mean Manchester United will be facing fierce competition from their league rivals with West Ham reportedly planning a 'raid' for the former Newcastle man.

Mikel Arteta's side had previously looked the most invested in securing Toney's signature but has they have delved further into the potential recruitment of Sporting Lisbon's Viktor Gyokeres, their attention on the Bees star man has waned. Chelsea were another London side hopeful of bringing Toney into the mix but their financial situation with regards to the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules will likely prevent them from making such a big-money spend.