Al-Ahli could blow Chelsea out of the water in the potential race for one of the club’s reported targets this summer.
Al-Ahli and Chelsea both appear to be in the market for a new striker, with the latter currently being linked with Brentford’s Ivan Toney and Napoli’s Victor Osimhen.
Chelsea were interested in Atletico Madrid’s Samu Omorodion, but the club decided not to go through with signing him in the end.
Chelsea could now offer Osimhen big wages to land the 25-year-old, while Toney also remains an option for them.
Al-Ahli want to sign Ivan Toney from Brentford
Osimhen may be at the top of Chelsea’s list right now, but the Blues seem to have an interest in Toney as well.
It has been suggested that Toney could join Chelsea on loan with an obligation to buy towards the end of the transfer window. However, the 28-year-old may not be available by then.
According to Foot Mercato, Al-Ahli are also interested in signing Toney this summer and have offered the Brentford star a £15.4m-a-year contract, which would see him pocket around £296,000-a-week.
Now in the latter stage of his career, that kind of money could be too hard for Toney to turn down.
Chelsea will not match Al-Ahli’s offer for Ivan Toney
Since taking over the club, Chelsea’s owners have done a lot of work to bring the wage bill down.
The Blues are no longer handing out crazy money, with Cole Palmer’s latest contract only being around the £120,000-a-week mark, according to The Telegraph.
While they could make an exception for Osimhen, it is hard to imagine them doing such for Toney, who will be 29 next year.
The England international is a superb player. Speaking about him a couple of years ago, his Three Lions teammate Declan Rice told talkSPORT: “He’s kind of like Harry Kane in a way where he’s not only an out-and-out striker, he’s a playmaker as well — his left and right footed passing, the way he picks out his teammates is a special technique to have.”
However, under this current ownership, there is no way that Toney is going to get a contract that is worth almost £300,000-a-week.
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