Chelsea consider Toney offer and hold talks over Sterling-Sancho swap

Chelsea are considering whether to bid for Ivan Toney from Brentford as they look to bring in a striker before the transfer window closes on Friday. They have also discussed a possible swap deal with Manchester United involving Raheem Sterling and Jadon Sancho.

Toney is now being considered as an option for Chelsea since negotiations with Napoli for Victor Osimhen have hit a roadblock.

The Nigerian striker is eager to make a move, but Chelsea is not willing to meet his salary requirements. It looks like Napoli will be signing Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea permanently.

Toney was not included in Brentford's team for the second week in a row on Sunday because they turned down a £35m offer from Al-Ahli. Reports suggest that he has received a £16m per year contract from the Saudi Arabian club, but he would rather continue playing in the Premier League.

Brentford is asking for £50 million for Toney, who has less than a year left on his contract and has openly expressed his wish to move on. Chelsea is likely to try to negotiate by offering less than the asking price, and Toney would need to agree to their salary cap. Toney has previously been linked to United and Arsenal.

The boss of Chelsea, Enzo Maresca, has emphasized that getting a striker is his main focus, but the club is also working on selling high-paid players Sterling and Ben Chilwell.

Chelsea is considering borrowing Sancho from United and sending Sterling in return. The two clubs talked about this potential arrangement on Tuesday.

Sancho, who is five years Sterling's junior, is also catching the eye of Juventus. There is a possibility that Chilwell could be included in a deal to bring Sancho to the club.