Tottenham are working to finalise a deal for Brentford striker Ivan Toney as the upcoming transfer window approaches
It was recently reported that Spurs had a £40m bid rejected for the Brentford star, with the club looking for a fee close £65m.
Former Tottenham man Alan Hutton has claimed that Spurs will aim to agree various add-ons to complete the transfer, potentially bringing the total fee to around £50-55 million.
He believes that this valuation is fair for a player of Toney’s calibre. He noted that the Lilywhites’ initial low bid and Brentford’s high asking price are typical in transfer negotiations, with the final fee often landing somewhere in between.
The add-ons could include criteria such as scoring a certain number of goals in the Champions League or for the England national team, thereby increasing the overall fee.
Hutton believes that if Toney can achieve 20-plus goals per season, with the quality of supply at Spurs, he could be a transformative player for the club.
Speaking to Tottenham News, Hutton said:
“I think that’s a good number, I understand Tottenham, I know how they work, they go in low, Brentford go high and you meet somewhere in the middle, that’s what happens in every move in football.
“If they can get around the £50-55million mark, I mean he’s 28, I know he had a slow end to the season when he came back from his ban – I think it was 17 games he only scored three or four goals – but we know what he’s capable of that was through what happened before and he’ll learn from that.
“If they can get in the building, look there could even be some add-ons if he goes and scores ‘X’ amount of goals in the Champions League or for England or whatever you can kind of bulk up the fee.
“But I think that’s a good number, he’ll make the difference for them if scores 20-plus goals a season, which with the supply he’s going to get I think he will, he could be the difference maker.”
This comes despite club insider Paul O’Keefe and Sky Sports reporter Michael Bridge, both dismissing the reports of any bid from Tottenham.
It has also been reported that a move for a new striker could depend on Richarlison’s situation at the club.
It remains to be seen whether Tottenham are successful in their bid to sign a new striker.