Chelsea hatching plan to beat Arsenal to player Mikel Arteta sees as a ‘strong fit’

Chelsea are considering making a January move for Brentford striker Ivan Toney.

That’s according to journalist and CaughtOffside columnist Ben Jacobs, who believes a bidding war could break out for the wantaway Bees forward.

Sparking rumours he is set to quit the Community Stadium after recently teaming up with leading agency CAA Stellar, Toney, 27, although currently serving a betting-related suspension, is expected to move clubs before the start of next season.

And although the Englishman’s next destination remains unknown, at least two of the Premier League’s biggest clubs are closely monitoring his situation.

According to Jacobs, although Chelsea and Arsenal are the saga’s two frontrunners at this early stage with the former desperately searching for ways to ease their goalscoring struggles, Mikel Arteta, who views the Bees’ number 17 as a ‘strong fit’ for his Gunners side, could miss out on the prolific marksman.

“Chelsea haven’t scored in their last three games and have drawn blanks in a Premier League-high 13 games in 2023,” Jacobs wrote in his exclusive SubStack column.

“If the goal shyness continues Chelsea could move in the hope of getting a jump on other suitors.”

“Toney is open to the Chelsea switch and I am told he ideally wants to stay in London. That’s also good news for Arsenal and Spurs. The Arsenal links are genuine. Toney is exactly the kind of profile Arteta craves. Even at 27 (and 28 by March next year), the Arsenal boss feels he’d be a strong fit.”

During his three years at Brentford, Toney, who has two years left on his deal, has scored 68 goals in 124 games in all competitions.