Brentford striker Ivan Toney declared himself “free” as he refused to rule out a big-money move after his eight-month ban came to an end on Wednesday.
Toney had been serving a suspension for breaching English Football Association gambling rules and he could return to action in Brentford’s Premier League game against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
The 27-year-old took to social media to mark the end of his ban by posting a GIF of a man holding his arms aloft in celebration, with the slogan “free!” on the bottom of the image.
Brentford boss Thomas Frank said before his side’s FA Cup third-round replay defeat at Wolves on Tuesday that Toney “will be absolutely on it and ready for Saturday”.
But Toney has been linked with both Arsenal and Chelsea during the transfer window and he admitted the possibility of joining one of the Premier League giants is intriguing.
Asked if this was not the right time to leave Brentford, Toney told Sky Sports: “Well I don’t know, you can never predict when is the right time to move elsewhere.
“It’s obvious I’d like to play for a top club, everybody wants to play for the top clubs, fighting for titles and these kinds of things.
“So whether it’s this January for a club to come in and pay the right money, who knows?
“But my main focus is doing what I do on the pitch and let the background work take care of itself.”
Frank is hoping to keep Toney at least until the end of the season.
“It’s a team he’s really enjoying being part of, with some good mates, enjoying their football together, enjoying playing for Brentford and for the fans,” Frank said.
“We’ve done everything we can to help him through this. We’d like to keep him, but we know how football is.”
Toney’s last competitive match was in Brentford’s 1-0 defeat at Liverpool on May 6, but he has been allowed to train with his team-mates since September.
He made his England debut during a European Championship qualifying win against Ukraine last March and has scored 32 goals in 66 Premier League appearances for Brentford.
Toney was also fined £50,000 ($63,000) and warned about his future conduct for 232 breaches of the FA’s betting rules.
He has been diagnosed as a gambling addict, but is confident he has beaten the habit.
“Sometimes you just don’t realise what you’re doing in the moment. It’s sorted out now,” he said.
“I’ve spoken to people about it and it’s all sorted now, so I’ll focus on doing the right thing. I’ll do none of that rubbish now, it’s all good.”
