West Ham United have caused a real issue for Aston Villa and their hopes of signing Ivan Toney this summer.
Ivan Toney is a player who West Ham have actually been interested in signing in the summer transfer window, whilst Aston Villa hitman Jhon Duran was a key target for Julen Lopetegui as well.
The Hammers head coach wanted to bring the Villa starlet to the London Stadium before Niclas Fullkrug was brought in, although it has been suggested that we could still be interested in signing the Villa starlet.
West Ham were reportedly willing to pay £30 million for the striker, whilst Villa were asking for closer to £40 million.
The Villans clearly want some proper proven competition and cover for Ollie Watkins, whilst Lopetegui desperately needs to bring in a big upgrade on Michail Antonio and Danny Ings.
Toney, 28, is said to be available for £50 million or even less this summer, and that is an awful lot of money for someone who will be 29 before the end of the season.
That said, there is a way that it would work out, for Villa at least. However, West Ham have thrown a real spanner in the works it seems.
West Ham caused an Ivan Toney transfer problem for Aston Villa
The Brentford striker will almost certainly leave the west London outfit this summer.
He was omitted from their squad yesterday after Thomas Frank admitted that he has the chance to leave the Bees this summer.
But where will he end up?
The options for the 28-year-old are diminishing by the week it seems, but now a new claim has been made about his future.
Andy Gray – a former Villa player – was speaking on beIN SPORTS over the weekend, and lifted the lid on how West Ham may well have impacted the west Midlands outfit this summer.
“I heard a couple of rumours recently when I was back in the UK that Villa and [Unai] Emery were seriously thinking about enquiring about him – let’s just say that,” Gray said.
“I’m not sure where Villa sit with FFP – they sold Douglas Luiz for a lot and spent a lot. I don’t know if Jhon Duran’s proposed transfer to West Ham not happening has now softened that a little, but there was definitely talk that Villa would be interested in Toney.”
Duran to West Ham not dead yet
So, West Ham not signing Duran has caused Villa a big problem it seems.
That said, it didn’t work out very well for us either, after the Colombia international scored the winner for Aston Villa against us at the London Stadium on Saturday.
I’m still not convinced that a deal for Duran is still dead in the water though, especially after Unai Emery suggested after Saturday’s game that he still doesn’t know if the 20-year-old will be at Villa beyond the end of the transfer window.
If Aston Villa really want to sign Ivan Toney, they had better lower their demands to West Ham for Jhon Duran.
The Hammers could really do with a young striker like Duran – someone with explosive pace and electric movement.
The 20-year-old would provide Lopetegui with an entirely different option through the middle, and if Villa push for Toney over the next week or so, the South American starlet may well be on the Hammers radar once again.
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