In light of Chelsea’s interest, West Ham star Michail Antonio has argued that Arsenal should pay £100 million on Brentford attacker Ivan Toney during the January transfer window.
Antonio emphasized that Toney would be valuable to Arsenal for 20 goals a season and that spending £100 million on him would be justified to support their title challenge.
Despite this, the Jamaican player stated that Mikel Arteta would need to find a method to include Toney in the squad because of his unique set of skills compared to Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Jesus.
He went on to claim the Brentford forward would not help Chelsea in their current situation.
Speaking on The Footballer’s Football Podcast [5 January], Antonio insisted: “I believe that, to Arsenal, he is worth £100million. He’s just that guy who’s always there, always in the right place, and constantly puts it in the back of the net. I feel like that’s what they’re missing from their title race.
“They need someone that’s going to give them 20 goals, and I believe that if he goes to Arsenal he will get them 20 goals. The difference, I would say, between him, Jesus and Nketiah, is I’m not too sure he could drop in as much as Jesus does, Nketiah does. But that is for Arteta to work out.
“In my opinion, he is worth £100 million to Arsenal.” I don’t think it’s really worth spending £100 million on a striker since I don’t think Chelsea will win the title this year.
Receiving the Antonio co-sign
When football players receive such high accolades from their peers, it’s one thing that consistently sets them apart from their competitors. Antonio’s claim that Toney is worth £100 million is more indicative of his skill and caliber and has gained the respect of other Premier League forwards.
Although it usually takes a lot for players to compliment their opponents, Toney’s performances while wearing a Brentford shirt have been outstanding, and Antonio’s high appreciation says it all about the caliber of play.
Tim Sherwood pleaded with West Ham to make their own offer for the Brentford striker live on Sky Sports on September 23. However, such deal would now be nearly impossible given the £100 million price tag and the competition from title-chasing teams.
However, it was reported by Barry Fry, the director of football at Peterborough, that the Hammers rejected a £10 million offer for Toney prior to his transfer to West London [Claret & Hugh, October 14]. Given his progress as a player and the financial implications of his possible departure, the Hammers will undoubtedly regret this decision.
