West Ham United star Michail Antonio reacts to Arsenal and Chelsea transfer rumours in Ivan Toney verdict
West Ham star Michail Antonio has insisted Arsenal should spend £100million on Brentford forward Ivan Toney in the January transfer window amid interest from Chelsea.
Antonio insisted that Toney would be worth 20 goals per season to Arsenal, and a £100million spend would be justified to help in their push for the Premier League title.
The Jamaican did, however, claim Mikel Arteta would have to figure out a way to get Toney into the team, with his skillset different to Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah.
He went on to claim the Brentford forward would not help Chelsea in their current situation.
Speaking on The Footballer’s Football Podcast [5 January], Antonio insisted: “I believe that, to Arsenal, he is worth £100million. He’s just that guy who’s always there, always in the right place, and constantly puts it in the back of the net. I feel like that’s what they’re missing from their title race.
“They need someone that’s going to give them 20 goals, and I believe that if he goes to Arsenal he will get them 20 goals. The difference, I would say, between him, Jesus and Nketiah, is I’m not too sure he could drop in as much as Jesus does, Nketiah does. But that is for Arteta to work out.
“In my eyes, for Arsenal, he’s worth £100million. I think Chelsea are not winning the title this year, so I don’t feel a £100million striker is really worth spending on.”
Receiving the Antonio co-sign
If there’s one thing that always singles out footballers from their competition is when they receive such high praise from their peers. Antonio saying Toney is worth £100million is more of an indication of his quality and talent, earning the respect of fellow forwards in the Premier League.
It often takes a lot for players to dish out praise to rivals, but Toney’s performances in a Brentford shirt have been impossible to ignore and the high praise from Antonio speaks volumes about the levels.
Tim Sherwood urged West Ham to make their own move for the Brentford striker live on Sky Sports [23 September], but with £100million price tags and title-chasing teams in the race, that move would now be almost impossible.
It was, however, claimed by Peterborough director of football Barry Fry that the Hammers turned down a £10million deal for Toney before his move to West London [Claret & Hugh, 14 October] – a move that they will surely regret both due to his improvement as a player and the money involved in his potential exit.
In other West Ham news, Ferdinand has told the Hammers to secure a “massive” deal.