Brentford and England striker Ivan Toney has been left out of the squad for today’s Premier League opener against Crystal Palace amid transfer interest.
Toney, 28, has scored 72 goals in 141 games for the Bees but has just one year left on his contract and has long been expected to move this summer.
Brentford manager Thomas Frank insisted on Friday that Toney would be available to face Palace but admitted today that he had been unwilling to reveal his hand.
“There’s a lot of things going on with Ivan, especially on transfers – there’s some transfer interest. Because of all that, we decided not to involve him in the squad,” Frank told Sky Sports.
“I couldn’t give too much away the day before. Ivan is a top player, we all know that, he’s been fantastic for us, but we showed last year especially that we can deal without him.”
When asked if Toney had played his last game for Brentford, Frank said: “Who knows? There’s interest, but it’s not close.”
Toney has previously been linked with Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur but the former’s interest appears to have cooled, Chelsea are targeting Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and Spurs moved instead for Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke.
There is reported to be interest in Toney from the Saudi Pro League but it is not clear whether he would be willing to leave the Premier League.
Toney only returned to the Brentford squad in January following a lengthy ban for betting on football matches, including some involving his team.