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Manchester United have been linked with Brentford striker Ivan Toney on occasion as centredevils covered as they look to add to their attacking options.
Frenchman Anthony Martial who has been at the club for almost ten years will be leaving once his contract expires in June, which will leave Rasmus Hojlund as the only recognized striker at Old Trafford.
As such, United will certainly be in the market for a centre forward, particularly one of Toney’s profile: great hold up play and with enough experience to help in developing young Hojlund.
As The Sun reports however, United are a tad concerned about Toney’s wage demands.
The Brentford striker is currently on £250k a week which is even more than club captain’s Bruno Fernandes’ salary who is on 240k a week.
INEOS are hell-bent on reducing the club’s wage bill, and as such Toney’s wage demands may prove a proper obstacle to seriously pursuing him unless he would be amenable to a wage cut.
United have been guilty of over-paying players time and time again, and have the fourth-highest wage bill in the Premier League, and INEOS are seeking to change that.
United currently have 4 players, all earning north of 300,000 pound a week, which is a massive wage bill. They may however find some reprieve in the coming summer as some of these top earners look set to leave the club, including Martial who earns 250,000 and Sancho and Casemiro who are both on 350k.
Last week, it was reported that the Bees had lowered their asking price from 100m to £40m, which may be a big incentive to potential suitors, although Toney’s wage demands remain a huge obstacle.
Brentford manager Thomas Frank however rubbished these claims after The Bees 2-0 win over Sheffield on Saturday.
Frank said: “Normally I don’t go into these price labels, but I would say £30-40m is very cheap for a 20-goal goalscorer in the Premier League.”
