Brentford director makes Ivan Toney transfer admission amid Manchester United links

Brentford director Lee Dykes admits Ivan Toney could leave the club this summer amid interest from Manchester United in his signature.

The 27-year-old has scored four goals in 10 appearances since he returned from an eight-month gambling ban and scored his first England goal against Belgium earlier this week.

Toney is one of the most highly rated strikers in the Premier League and is in with a chance of being named in Gareth Southgate’s final squad for the European Championship in Germany this summer.

United are understood to be one of the many sides who admire Toney as they look to sign a back up option for Rasmus Hojlund at the end of the season, though a deal seems unlikely given the large transfer fee that would be required to sign him.

However, if United do decide to pursue a move there is encouragement in the fact that Brentford would be open to sell if an appropriate offer comes in.

“Well, we've got to be honest and open with ourselves, like we were last summer with David Raya,” Dykes told The United Stand. “We signed players, and we're honest with them, and they're honest with us that maybe the time may come for them to go on to bigger and better levels than ourselves. Ivan [Toney] is in a similar situation to what David [Raya] was in. He’s got aspirations to play at a higher level, which is fine, but it’s got to be on Brentford's terms, obviously. And we've got to do it as a recruitment department, and it's particularly my role. I've just got to be ready to know that there may be a situation where we're looking to bring somebody in if Ivan leaves the club, but there's also a situation where Ivan stays at the club, and that's what we all want.

“We want Ivan to stay at the club and play Premier League football for Brentford for years to come. But what a fantastic story. You know, we signed him from the third tier of English football, and he's now in the England team, and hopefully, he gets a few appearances over the next couple of months and helps us as a nation to get that elusive trophy.”