Thomas Frank explains why Ivan Toney was left out of Brentford’s opening win

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Ivan Toney hoped to be in the starting lineup for Brentford's match against Crystal Palace, but he was unexpectedly excluded due to the possibility of a lucrative transfer to another team.

The striker from England seems to have finished playing for the Bees team, as coach Thomas Frank mentioned that he was not able to play due to "interest from other teams for a transfer".

Toney has been connected to a big transfer to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, and the Bees, wanting to make a profit of around £60m instead of losing the 28-year-old for free next year, decided not to include him.

Luckily for Frank, Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa stepped up once more to take the lead, just like they did last year when Toney was suspended for eight months for breaking betting regulations. They helped Brentford secure a 2-1 victory.

Frank explained that Ivan is involved in transfer talks and other activities, so they decided to leave him out of the squad.

"The decision was made by the club and myself last Thursday. We believed it was the right choice. Ivan is always eager to get on the field and play."

When asked about which clubs were interested in him, Frank responded with a mysterious "You never know."

He said, “Ivan is a great player. He has been one of our top performers, if not the best, for a long time. As is the case with all talented players, eventually they will move on from the club.”

Ivan is currently involved in transfer rumors and other activities, which is why we have made the decision to not include him in the squad for now.

"Every time Ivan has been absent, Wissa has consistently performed well. Today was no exception. Bryan had a strong start last season and he's back in form now. Great job."

Mbeumo scored the first goal in the first half, and even though Ethan Pinnock accidentally scored a goal for Palace, Wissa scored the winning goal 14 minutes before the end of the game.

Palace were very angry after referee Sam Barratt controversially ruled out Eberechi Eze's goal, which would have been the first of the match.

The middle player kicked the ball from the side and scored a goal near the goalpost. However, the referee penalized Will Hughes for fouling Nathan Collins.

Video recordings revealed that there was no actual foul, however, as stated in a post on X from the Premier League, VAR Peter Bankes could not step in because the referee had already blown the whistle before the ball went into the goal.

Eze disclosed that Barratt confessed to making a mistake, stating on BBC Match of the Day that he was informed he had prematurely blown the whistle and made an error.

Manager of Palace, Oliver Glasner, tactfully mentioned, "This proves he has a strong character and is a good person. It's normal to make mistakes in the game. Even I made some mistakes today."

I believe everyone was caught off guard by the early whistle from the referee. We were convinced it was a goal, but according to the rules, when the referee blows the whistle, the goal doesn't count. That's just how it goes.