Brentford manager Thomas Frank is certain that striker Ivan Toney will be playing for the club next season, if they win promotion to the Premier League.

Toney has enjoyed an outstanding campaign for the Bees since joining from Peterborough last summer, with his goal in their 2-0 win over Watford equalling the record of 30 goals in a single Championship season.

That however, has led to plenty of speculation around the striker's future, with Tottenham the latest club to be linked with a move for the 25-year-old.

But despite, it seems Frank believes that promotion will ensure Toney will be a Brentford player again next season.

Speaking to West London Sport about Toney's future after that win over Watford, Frank said that if the club are a Premier League next season, he is “confident we will keep him 100%”. 

The Brentford manager went on to add: “Ivan will be a Premier League player – there is no doubt he will be there.

“We like to keep players for two or three seasons, and if we go up I can’t see a better place than us to play, no matter where he could go. Here he has proved he can do well and he knows the team and his team-mates.”

However, Frank did concede that missing out on promotion could change the situation with regards to Toney, as he continued: “It would be a decision for Matthew Benham, Rasmus Ankersen and Phil Giles.

“As I said, we usually keep players for two or three years, but only six clubs in the world are not selling clubs so let’s see. If he’s not staying though, he will be bloody expensive.”

Brentford are guaranteed to finish third in the Championship this season, meaning they will get a shot at promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs.

The Verdict

I do agree with Frank about Toney's future if Brentford are promoted.

The windfall that promotion to the Premier League would bring them, along with the fact that Toney has plenty of time remaining on his Brentford contract, means the club would be under no pressure to sell if they do return to the top-flight of English football.

Indeed, given the impact he has made since his arrival at Brentford last summer, it goes without saying that the club will surely be desperate to keep him beyond the end of this season.

But given the interest there is in Toney, and the financial windfall they would miss out on if they do not win promotion, it could be hard for them to do that if they are not in the Premier League during the 2021/22 campaign.