Ivan Toney to miss out on Liverpool dream as Al Ahli transfer talks continue

Ivan Toney has previously confessed that he's a boyhood Liverpool fan as he looks set to leave Brentford this summer.

The England international was left out of the Bees' matchday squad for their Premier League opener against Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon with manager Thomas Frank confirming the decision was because of recent transfer speculation.

As reported by the BBC, Brentford turned down a £35m bid for Toney to join Saudi Arabia side Al-Ahli last week, although journalist Fabrizio Romano has revealed negotiations are ongoing to find a swift resolution.

With Frank admitting to BBC Radio 5 live that's it's fair to suggest it's a matter of when his star striker leaves and not if, it's worth recalling the time when Toney appeared on Steven Bartlett's Diary of a CEO podcast and confessed his love for Liverpool as he was asked about his career plan.

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Revealing that his next club would have to be 'the right one', Bartlett pushed for the 29-year-old to spill the beans by stating: "When you say the right club, you're not talking about Liverpool, are you? I heard you're a Liverpool fan..."

To which Toney responded: "I've been a Liverpool fan my whole life. I've liked Arsenal for the way they play and for how passionate their fans are, but I'm a Liverpool boy at heart".

Judging by those comments, it's safe to assume Toney would find it almost impossible to turn down a move to Anfield if Liverpool were to ever make an approach for his services.

However, it looks like his dream move isn't going to become a reality anytime soon. Not only because of links to Al-Ahli but there have been no suggestions that the Reds are even interested in a deal especially with Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo and Diogo Jota all capable of leading the line.

Prior to serving his eight-month ban for 232 breaches of the FA’s betting rules, Toney established himself as one of the most potent strikers in the Premier League as he notched an impressive tally of 20 league goals for Brentford during the 2022/23 season.

Of course his 2023/24 campaign was disrupted as his first appearance came towards the end of January and he ended up netting four goals from 17 outings, earning a place in England's Euro 2024 squad where he made a couple of telling contributions off the bench in Germany.