Chelsea may end up paying less than the £100m reported valuation of Brentford striker, Ivan Toney, according to journalist, Fabrizio Romano.

The Blues’ interest in adding another striker to their front line is well documented, and Toney is said to be one of the names on their list of targets.

The 27-year-old recently returned to action for the Bees, following an eight-month match suspension by the Premier League. He has also continued to bang in the goals for Thomas Frank’s side, with the Dane recently coming out to admit that Brentford may not be able to stop the striker from leaving this summer after all.

According to Romano, who was speaking via his Substack for Caught Offside, a good number of clubs will try to make a move for Toney, who is expected to cost significantly less than £100m as he enters the final year of his contract with Brentford this summer.

The journalist said: “Another story that could be relevant for Chelsea, who want to sign a striker this summer, and also for Arsenal, is that Thomas Frank has spoken publicly about Ivan Toney being likely to leave at the end of this season.

“He’ll have just a year left on his contract, so his price tag will likely be lower than the £100m it would have cost to sign him in January.

“I think this situation makes sense and I don’t think clubs needed Frank to say that, it’s quite obvious and also one of the reasons why no one wanted to pay that amount of money in January. In the summer it will be different, for sure.”

Victor Osimhen is another player that Chelsea have been linked with in recent months, but it remains to be seen whether the Blues will actually follow through with their interest in the Nigerian, who is expected to cost even more than Toney, given their current standing with Financial Fair Play after spending so much on transfers in the last three transfer windows.