Brentford boss Thomas Frank has explained the absence of Manchester United and Saudi Arabia linked Ivan Toney from the squad to face Crystal Palace.
Toney’s name was missing when the Brentford squad for the Premier League clash on Sunday afternoon was announced, instantly raising eyebrows.
The striker is into the last year of his Brentford contract and has been linked with a possible move to Manchester United, while he has interest from Saudi Arabia.
Frank admits that transfer business is behind Toney not being involved, but he is not in a position to say that a move is close.
He does feel however that Brentford have proven they can compete without Toney.
“There’s a lot of things going on with Ivan, there’s some transfer interest. Because of all that, we decided not to involve him in the squad”, Frank said on Sky Sports.
“It’s the classic one – I couldn’t give too much the day before. He’s been a fantastic player for us, but we showed last year especially that we can deal without him.
“Who knows [if he will be leaving]? There’s interest, but there’s nothing close.”
With the summer transfer window now inside its last two weeks, Brentford are likely to want Toney’s situation resolving quickly in order to be able to sign a replacement if needed.
