Brentford chairman Cliff Crown has insisted that forward Ivan Toney will not be sold by the club this summer following their promotion to the Premier League.

Toney played a pivotal role in helping the Bees get over the line and secure promotion to the Premier League, with the forward netting his 33rd goal of the campaign from the penalty spot in the play-off final win against Swansea City. That goal rounded off what has been a remarkable campaign for the striker and he has proven to be an exceptional buy from Brentford.

Unsurprisingly the forward has been attracting a lot of potential suitors heading into the summer transfer window, with reports emerging that the likes of Arsenal, West Ham and Leeds were all potentially interested in signing him this summer.

Football League World revealed that the Bees would be demanding a fee of around £35 million to sell him in the transfer window if they were to miss out on promotion.

However, speaking to Sky Sports, following their promotion to the Premier League, Crown has insisted that the striker is going to remain with the Bees and play week in week out in the top-flight for them next term.

He said: “What a great guy, phenomenal performances obviously the support of the team behind him has been brilliant and that’s helped him get the 33 goals, but fantastic.

“For sure he stays with Brentford and he’ll be playing week in week out and what more do you want to do than being a Premier League player playing week in week in the best league in the world.”

The verdict

This is brilliant news for Brentford and shows that the club have now got real ambitions to try and cement their place in the Premier League following their promotion. Keeping hold of Toney is going to be paramount to any hopes that they have of achieving their survival in the top-flight next term.

It was always going to be very difficult for them to keep hold of Toney if they missed out on promotion, with the forward clearly someone that should be playing in the Premier League after his exceptional season with the Bees. However, Brentford are now in a position where they can retain such players rather than having to cash in as they have in previous summers.

Toney could well be a major asset for them in the top-flight next term and his value will only continue to rise in the transfer market if he hits the ground running next term. There is every chance that the Bees will be in a strong place to survive with his goals in the side.