Reports: Chelsea monitoring Brentford duo as part of summer overhaul
Chelsea are keeping tabs on Brentford FC duo David Raya and Ivan Toney ahead of Mauricio Pochettino’s imminent appointment.
The Blues were recently handed a third straight Premier League defeat, and a fifth consecutive loss in all competitions, by the Bees at Stamford Bridge. While only Harry Kane and a certain Erling Haaland have scored more goals than Ivan Toney in the Premier League, David Raya was an onlooker for the majority of the contest against the Blues, earning his 10th clean sheet of the season.
As reported by Football London, the Blues will now hope to poach their neighbours for arguably two of their finest players.
A major portion of the club’s problems is the owners’ reluctance to stick to a certain manager or recruitment plan thus far. And yet again, Chelsea will have to trim a thronged squad before making any more plans in the summer. None of the January incomers barring Enzo Fernandez have found their feet yet.
10 out of the 39 points for the Blues have been scalped under Thomas Tuchel, further intensifying the volume of the task left to do at the backend of this season and the summer transfer window.
Raya, 27, has been outstanding for Brentford between the sticks since his return to the Premier League. Now about to enter his prime, the Spaniard is understood to be interested in a bigger project.
As per reports from Fabrizio Romano, he has already declined two requests from the club to put pen to paper. Kepa Arrizabalaga has vastly improved this term, but neither himself nor Edouard Mendy are viewed as long-term options for Chelsea.
As for Toney being linked with a move, Chelsea’s desire to finally land a striker that fits the bill is all over the back pages.
Romelu Lukaku’s future will be discussed in the summer, while the less it’s said about Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s Blues career, the better. Meanwhile, Armando Broja’s long-term ACL injury has effectively ruled him out until the start of next season.
Toney is a forward with predatory instincts, sharp movement, and someone with a canny way to construct proceedings around him. Proven in English football already, he could be Chelsea’s best choice at present, both technically and financially.
Aston Villa are also in the race for Toney, and given his outstanding returns, it’s expected that more sides will raid Brentford for their talisman.
What Todd Boehly and co. will look to avoid repeating is bloating the team full of players that aren’t the next manager’s choice. It will only create further unrest, unhappy faces, and add pressure on to the coach from a fanbase that’s hit rock bottom.
Chelsea is next in action against Bournemouth on Saturday May 6th.
-Roy Akarshak
Twitter: @RoyAkarshak
Photo: Ardfern. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.