Both Ivan Toney and Dusan Vlahovic were the hot topics during this summer transfer window. However, neither of the players made any new moves this summer from their respective clubs. Several Premier League clubs, like Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, and more were interested. It seems they didn’t die down. Depending on what Brentford and Juventus decide, both players’ fates still hang in the balance. In an exclusive interaction with InsideSport, Transfer expert Gianluca Di Marzio discussed what might be the players’ next destination.
Ivan Toney was the 3rd top scorer in the Premier League last season. Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, and Arsenal were heavily interested in the player in the summer transfer window. While he stayed at Brentford, the teams are still pursuing him. However, now his absence from the field till January, next year due to FA betting rule breaches can be a hindrance. Transfer expert Gianluca Di Marzio discussed the matter and said, “It depends on what Brentford wants to do with Ivan Toney.”
He added, “I think they’ve always asked between 70-80 million for him. Waiting for him after a six-month ban and selling him, could be strange. You wait for this player a lot, and you want to get him back and play for your team to help you to achieve your targets in the season. It depends in January what Brentford’s situation will be. Do they need the player in that position? I know that they are trying to scout other players to replace him.”
He further added, “Obviously they are planning to sell him if the offer is high… I don’t think Toney is the better option for a club like Arsenal who play in a different way, so they need players with a different skill set. I’m not so sure he’s the right striker for the way Arsenal play. Everybody thought Tottenham had to replace Kane with another striker. They didn’t do that and now they are winning all their matches.”
Talking about Spurs’ best options, Di Marzio added, “So I don’t know if they will get a striker now. But yes, Toney and Taremi, who’s another player with similar characteristics and he’s out of contract with Porto in June. So Taremi is another kind of player who has characteristics similar to Kane. Tottenham can think about Toney but they never spent 80 million for a player so it depends on how much Brentford asks for him.”
On the other hand, Chelsea and Arsenal are also interested in the Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic. Di Marzio shed light on the matter as well, saying, “The situation for Vlahovic is that Juventus tried to do the swap deal with Chelsea but it collapsed and now they don’t have Lukaku to get in this deal. They are trying to let Vlahovic play and try to sell him in June because if he plays and scores, he will have international suitors.”
He added, “I don’t think Juventus will sell him in January but they will listen to offers because at Juventus, at this moment, they listen to every offer they will get about their players. He was not on the top of Pochettino’s list, otherwise they would have done the swap deal. So we will see what kind of club will need Dusan in the summer. Vlahovic won’t be a good option for Arsenal as he and Toney are similar in their characteristics.”
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