Chelsea and Arsenal have been given the biggest incentive yet to signing Ivan Toney in January after his former owner claimed that both clubs had missed huge chances to buy the player last summer. With just over two months left until he is eligible for selection once more the clock is ticking until an expected move.
Toney was one of the best performers in the league last season, scoring 20 goals in 33 starts. Only Harry Kane and Erling Haaland managed more than the 27-year-old but it was his eventual ban from football that meant he remained with Brentford for at least six months more.
It had been thought that Chelsea and Arsenal would act over the summer to try to buy the player after his stellar campaign, leading Thomas Frank's side to a ninth place finish, scoring over a third of the team's goals. This year they have found it harder to match the form that came alongside Toney's involvement but there was a standout victory over Chelsea, ironically, last time out.
Now the attention is really starting to turn towards Toney with the January window less than eight weeks away and both the Blues and the Gunners finding problems up front. Arsenal have seen Gabriel Jesus ruled out for a number of weeks for the second time since August, though Eddie Nketiah has continued to improve his record and scored a hat-trick against Sheffield United last weekend.
Chelsea, on the other hand, are the league's second biggest underachievers when it comes to goals having scored 6.23 less than their expected goals (xG) suggests — only Everton on a staggering 8.39 below expectation have been more profligate in front of goal. Arsenal are actually outperforming the metric so far having scored 23 from an xG of 19.89, only marginally better more than
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