Arsenal hand Chelsea huge Ivan Toney transfer boost amid staggering new January price demand

Chelsea have been handed two crucial Ivan Toney transfer updates ahead of the January transfer window in their race for his signature with Arsenal. The 27-year-old still has just over two months left to serve of his footballing ban that began in May for betting offences, although he has returned to team training and played in behind-closed-doors friendlies in the last few months.

Prior his eight-month ban being confirmed, Toney had scored 20 Premier League goals with his scintillating form also resulting in an England call-up. Understandably, that garnered attention from a number of clubs with Arsenal and Chelsea emerging as the two most-likely destinations.

A January exit has been far from ruled out with both London clubs, particularly Chelsea, in need of improving their attacking depth. While the Blues are also monitoring Victor Osimhen, that deal seems highly unlikely to occur in the winter window, and now Arsenal are targeting a different strike which could affect their pursuit of Toney.

According to a report from CalcioMercato, the Gunners are showing significant interest in RB Leipzig forward Benjamin Sesko. The 20-year-old only arrived in Germany from RB Salzburg in the summer but Arsenal are said to have contacted his representatives over the possibility of a move.

Arsenal switching focus to Sesko could leave Chelsea free to sign Toney with minimal competition in January, however it appears the Bees are going to do all they can to stop that. According to a new report from Sky Sports, Brentford value their star striker at £100million as they plan to keep him at least until the end of the season.

Ahead of January, £60million had been the fee heavily discussed as being enough to lure Toney away from west London, however