Arsenal can seal major signing for '£30m less' and Declan Rice can play major role

Arsenal could reportedly sign Ivan Toney for much less than initially thought with Brentford willing to slash their asking price. Toney has been widely tipped to depart the Bees this summer, with Arsenal among the clubs said to be keen on snapping him up.

Toney has made no secret of his desire to leave Brentford for a bigger club if the opportunity presents itself in the near future. He is only tied down to the Bees until the end of next season, meaning they are under pressure to sell to avoid losing him on a free transfer in 2025.

Brentford initially valued Toney at around £80million but have decided to lower their asking price in an attempt to fast-track a move, according to The Sun. It is said that offers in the region of £50m will now be considered, with Brentford ‘surprised’ at the lack of interest thus far.

It means Arsenal will have the opportunity to sign Toney for less than what they paid to land Kai Havertz last summer and Gabriel Jesus the year before. However, the report adds that Arsenal are not prioritising the addition of a new striker with Mikel Arteta keen to improve in other areas.

If the Gunners decide to reignite their interest in Toney, they could ask Declan Rice to convince him to join them over the likes of Tottenham and Chelsea. The two players struck up a close bond while on England duty at the Euros and were seen partying in Ibiza earlier this week.

Rice opened up on his friendship with Toney ahead of England’s defeat to Spain in the final, saying: “With Ivan, I think we have just clicked. Ever since he got into the squad, we just got on. I think even from his time at Brentford, you know, we used to speak all the time after games and stuff.

“We have always got on and we are really close now, which is really nice. We spend a lot of time together and just even seeing him the other night when he got his first minutes, made the impact, got the assist, obviously took his pen like he did, it was just incredible.

“He has been unbelievable in this tournament for the whole squad, so, yeah, he is a really, really good friend of mine now.”

Toney currently has no plans to extend his deal at Brentford, meaning he is likely to leave this summer or at the end of the season if a buyer is not found. It remains to be seen if Arsenal will enlist the help of Rice to bring him to the Emirates Stadium, with plenty of time left for them to change their minds.