Former Premier League winner claims Saudi Arabia is a ‘no-no’ move for Toney | OneFootball

Chris Sutton believes Ivan Toney moving to Saudi Arabia would be a ‘waste’ as the striker looks for a move away from Brentford.

England international Toney has been subject of a bid from Saudi Pro League side Al Ahli, with Brentford rejecting £35m for the 28-year-old.

The Bees left Toney out of the side which beat Crystal Palace 2-1 on Sunday because of “transfer interest”, but former Chelsea striker Sutton says the forward should reject Saudi and remain in the Premier League.

“At this stage of his career, I think Saudi is a no-no,” Sutton said whilst speaking on BBC 5 Live’s Monday Night Club.

“He has proven himself in the Premier League and he has all the attributes. His link up, his physicality, set-piece [ability] and his all-round play have developed really well.

“You can have all the money in the world but this is Ivan Toney at his peak and I would like to see him stay in the Premier League. I would go to Saudi Arabia when I was 35 and past it.

“That doesn’t mean he can’t go to Saudi and then come back to the Premier League, but why doesn’t he just wait another season and then get a move? He’s 28, his career was flourishing then he had the ban, but then he had the high of the Euros at the summer.”

Brentford are asking for at least £50m to allow Toney to depart, with another bid expected to come in the coming days.

Sutton says there is no need for Toney to move to the Middle East, and believes that Manchester United would be the perfect fit for the forward.

“He is in a really good place at the moment. From Brentford’s point of view, at £50m, you can understand why they would sell him for that amount with a year left on his contract.

“Purely from a footballing perspective, that would be such a waste of him going to Saudi. Manchester United are striker-less at this moment in time, he would be a good fit there.”