As Chelsea prepare for the biggest game of their season so far tonight in the League Cup quarter-finals, many thoughts will now also be on the January transfer window to help boost their season.
As we know, Chelsea have been looking for potential new strikers for next month, but they appear to be few and far between.
On top of that, some of the linked goals simply won’t be achievable next month.
Victor Osimhen looks impossible until the summer, and Viktor Gyokeres has a release clause worth more than £85m and is also relatively unproven.
So for me that only leaves one option, and he’ll be available next month: Brentford’s Ivan Toney.
Don’t take my word for it that he’s approachable, take the word of the club’s technical director, Lee Dykes.
“I am very excited that Iván returns because I see him training and he is a great player; he looks like he’s never been away,” Dykes told the club website.
“There is a real ambition in him and I can see in his eyes that he will be better than ever; I really think that will be the case.
“Yes, in January there will be a lot of interest in Iván. Naturally, there should be. He was the Premier League’s third top scorer last season, one of them. [Harry Kane] Now he’s gone to Germany, so he’s there as one of the best forwards in the division. In my opinion, he is among the top five in the world.
“So there should be interest, and maybe soon the time will come when Iván moves to another club. But they will have to pay a decent transfer fee to acquire his services because he is very talented.”
I mean, he will literally put Toney on the transfer market next month with these comments. He’s actually available, and Sykes is literally trying to generate interest and start a bidding war for his player.
For me, Toney has always been my first choice simply because he has Premier League experience, has captained the club, is an England international and is one of the only true No 9s available at the moment.
If I were Chelsea, I’d call Dykes directly and ask him what it would take to get Toney to Stamford Bridge next month.
It’s all Chelsea need at the moment and we should have gotten through it.
