Peterborough chairman Darragh MacAnthony makes significant Ivan Toney, Arsenal transfer claim | OneFootball

Some of the Premier League's top British players have had to be schooled the hard way by playing in the EFL for a number of years - whether that be on loan or permanently - before they broke out to become stars, and Ivan Toney is no exception.

The striker, who is currently banned from action for betting offences, has been one of the top strikers in the Premier League in the last two full seasons, scoring 32 times for Brentford in 66 appearances, including a 20-goal haul in the 2022-23 campaign.

He was also prolific for the Bees in his first season for them at Championship level with 43 goal contributions, and that came after a stint at Peterborough United which made him become a better player.

And with Brentford said to want in excess of £100 million for the 27-year-old, who in January will enter the final 18 months of his contract, one club that are keeping a close eye on proceedings are the aforementioned Posh.

What is Peterborough United's sell-on clause in any Ivan Toney transfer deal?

Peterborough could not keep Toney at the club in 2020 following a prolific League One season, and when Brentford came with an offer of an initial £5 million with a further £5 million worth of add-ons, chairman Darragh MacAnthony chose to accept.

United had received £2.5 million of those add-ons before Toney's England international debut earlier this year, per the Daily Mail, and that was an appearance that banked them another £1 million.

A sell-on clause though is the biggest part of the deal that was agreed, as the numbers touted for Toney's potential exit from the West London club mean Posh are set for a further windfall.

Co-owner Stewart Thompson revealed in 2021 that Posh would get 30 per cent of any fee for Toney's sale, but 30 per cent of that would go to his former club Newcastle, meaning if Brentford were to get an audacious £100 million for the attacker, then a mammoth £21 million would go into Peterborough's coffers and £9 million would head to the Magpies.

What has Darragh MacAnthony said on Ivan Toney and Arsenal?

MacAnthony, who of course has a vested interest in Toney's future, believes that not only is the striker worth north of £75 million, but if Arsenal were to have signed him back in August then he would have guaranteed them the Premier League title by coming in as a fresh player halfway through the season and firing in the goals to bring the trophy to the Emirates Stadium.

"Will he go in January? I don't know, (he will) probably in the summer, but it would be nice if he went for £100 million in January," MacAnthony said on talkSPORT.

"How much is he worth for me? I think the type of striker he is, when he's in-form, anywhere from £75-80 million if you look at the market.

"I think he's got his best years ahead of him and I think that he's a game-changer.

"They (Brentford) won't worry about that, they'll probably do a contract with a release clause, I'd imagine that would be the compromise, he'd probably sign one of them, they're happy, he's happy, agent is happy.

"But at the end of the day, Brentford are the shrewdest negotiators in the business

"I don't think they're going to lose sleep - whether they sell in January or the summer it won't affect the value.

"Harry Kane at 30 went for £100 million - people say the market is overinflated, Man United paid £50 million for a striker from Italy with a one in five goalscoring record.

"Ivan Toney - who will score you 25 Premier League goals every year - will go for £25 million more than that. "Chelsea should've bought him in August and they'd have a ready-made striker ready to go in January who is already in with the dressing room and well-in with the manager. "It's made no difference to them so they could've done it, they had the money, they should've bought him in August.

"Arsenal instead of Havertz - should've bought him in August, because again Havertz isn't going to make a difference to them winning the title but Ivan Toney guarantees them the title in maybe a down year for Man City - he will guarantee one of those two clubs a title in the next two years.