Despite being barred from all football activities until January, Ivan Toney has been training with Brentford for nearly two months after making a secret arrangement with the FA.
In May, the 27-year-old was suspended for eight months after being accused with more than 200 violations of FA betting statutes. Although footage has emerged of Toney at Brentford’s training field on August 1, the governing body allowed him permission to return to training in mid-September (halfway through his ban).
The FA, it turns out, discreetly agreed to this, granting the striker “dispensation” to return early.
Brentford released a statement in response to the footage, saying, “Ivan Toney was given dispensation by the Football Association to attend club premises during his suspension from football-related activity for rehabilitation work after he suffered a hamstring injury that caused him to miss matches in May.”
“That rehabilitation work included individual sessions with strength and conditioning coaches and medical staff, including with a football, as per Ivan’s recovery plan,” the club continued. There have been no violations of FA sanctions, which have all been scrupulously enforced by both the club and Ivan.”
Toney can be seen jogging across one of Brentford’s training pitches in the footage, which was obtained by The Sun, as part of a single fitness session with first-team conditioning coach Matt Bramhall. The Bees want him to be fit and ready to play when his suspension expires on January 17, but they may struggle to keep him.
Arsenal and goal-starved Chelsea are among the clubs considering a mid-season move for the England international. Prior to his suspension, Brentford were reportedly asking approximately £80 million for him, but he’s now anticipated to cost roughly £60 million.
Toney has 68 goals in 124 games for the west London side and ended third in the Premier League goalscoring rankings last season with 20 goals, behind Erling Haaland and Harry Kane. He joined Brentford for £5 million from Peterborough in 2019, and has previously played for Newcastle, Northampton, and on loan in League One.
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