West Ham hold advantage to sign star striker who once left Nuno Espirito Santo livid
West Ham United believe Ivan Toney favours a move to London should he return to the Premier League in 2026.
Toney scored 36 Premier League goals for Brentford, having set a goalscoring record in firing them to the top flight, before joining Al-Ahli in August 2024.
Toney recently emerged as a target for West Ham ahead of the January transfer window, less than 18 months after swapping English football for the Saudi Pro League.
West Ham legend Michail Antonio once described Toney as a £100million player, and while his stock has fallen somewhat after moving to Saudi, he would still provide a good option up top for the Irons.
Indeed, with Niclas Fullkrug on his way out of West Ham in January, signing a new number nine is at the very top of Nuno Espirito Santo‘s transfer wishlist.
Thomas Tuchel to play part in Ivan Toney transfer decision
Toney seemingly had a choice of clubs he could join ahead of last season, yet opted to chase the money abroad rather than further his career in England.
West Ham would likely take a £60m hit on Toney should they sign him, which is down to various tax reasons.
Toney would instantly upgrade West Ham’s attack, though, and he would seemingly be interested in joining the Hammers.
And it may well be that England boss Thomas Tuchel persuades Toney to return to the Premier League if he is to nail down a spot in the Three Lions’ World Cup squad for next summer.
Providing an update on the situation via talkSPORT on Tuesday evening, transfer expert Ben Jacobs said: “Tuchel may play more of a role than a prospective buyer.
“It’s the usual suspects for January. West Ham want a number nine as a top priority and believe Toney, if he is coming back to the Premier League, would be inclined to go to London.
“And keep an eye on Tottenham as well. January is unlikely for Spurs, but if he does a full season, he’s fine tax wise and then come next summer it may be that Thomas Frank considers a reunion.”
Spurs already have Dominic Solanke – and others – on their books, so the ball would surely be in West Ham’s court if the interest is indeed there.
Nuno Espirito Santo was once angry at Ivan Toney decision
Toney served an eight-month ban while at Brentford for breaching the Football Association’s betting rules.
Upon his return to action in January 2024, he found the back of the net in Brentford’s 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest.
However, then-Forest boss Nuno was not happy at all as Toney moved the ball slightly before scoring from a free-kick.
Reacting to that after the game, a frustrated Nuno said: “Of course, I have [an issue]. Everyone in this room can see it was a ball displacement.
“Every goal must be checked. I don’t know if this was checked. It’s ball displacement. I think we have to be a little bit more mature in these situations. It changed the position of the wall.”
That was one of 36 Premier League goals scored by Toney for Brentford in 85 appearances in the competition.
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