West Ham prepare to fight London rivals for £100m England international

It's no secret that Brentford's striker Ivan Toney is a hot topic in the world of transfers ahead of the upcoming summer window. Large amounts of speculation widely reported that the England international would be heading to the north of the capital with Arsenal supposedly leading the race for his signature.

However, a recent report from The Sun has now placed West Ham as another Premier League side ready to battle the league's top sides for Toney's services ahead of the 2024/25 season. David Moyes has been on the look-out for a new striker ever since Gianluca Scamacca left the club last summer leaving only Michail Antonio and Danny Ings as the two options to lead the front line.

A striker was also reportedly their main target in January, with Bayer Leverkusen striker Victor Boniface linked with a £50million move, suggesting that if this figure is anything to go by, the Irons are willing to splash the cash to find the right candidate. Similarly, Lucas Paqueta is widely speculated to leave this summer, with Manchester City the likely destination, Moyes will be keen to significantly bolster his attacking department.

It is believed that the signing of 28-year-old Toney would provide a huge statement of intent for the Hammers who now join Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur in the fight for his name.

Toney has scored four goals in his most recent nine fixtures, having spent the previous eight months on the sidelines due to breaching the FA's betting rules. His recent form has sent him straight back into the England squad and the 8-month forced break appears to have done little to affect his 2022/23 form which saw him score 20 goals in 33 appearances.

After three years at Newcastle, during which time he was sent on loan to the likes of Barnsley and Scunthorpe United, Toney moved to Peterborough United before heading to West London in 2020. He has since made 120 league appearances for Thomas Frank's side, scoring 67 goals in the process.