Toney to captain Brentford on return from eight-month ban
Ivan Toney will have had 20th January 2024 marked in his diary for a long time.
After serving an eight-month suspension for breaching FA gambling rules, the 27-year-old striker will lead his side out on his return to competitive football against Nottingham Forest on Saturday evening.
Bees boss Thomas Frank hailed Toney’s goalscoring and leadership attributes upon his return to the matchday squad, and hopes that he will be able to halt Brentford’s five league game losing streak.
He said: “[Ivan’s] buzzing, like an eight-year-old boy that just wants to go out and play his first football game. That pure joy of playing football.
“I’m looking into the eyes of a player that is very committed, very excited and can’t wait.”
The striker was returned to training with his team-mates in September and has played in several behind-closed-doors friendlies since.
Toney’s hat-trick for Brentford B against Southampton on 6th January suggested the ‘pre-season programme’ has worked perfectly.
Toney last scored a Premier League goal against Nottingham Forest in April 2023.
Frank added: “I’ve said before, it’s like a new signing. There is an argument that he is the second-best striker [after Erling Haaland] in the Premier League, in my opinion. He needs to prove it again, it’s the same with any player.”
Brentford’s attacking threat has been compounded without the injured Bryan Mbeumo and Kevin Schade, as well as Congolese striker Yoane Wissa – who is currently at the Africa Cup of Nations – and so Toney’s comeback is set to bolster the Bees attacking options.
The talismanic striker – who netted 20 goals in 33 league games for the Bees last season – has been at the heart of speculative transfer stories, with Arsenal and Chelsea reportedly interested.
However, Frank reassured Brentford fans that a January departure is highly unlikely.
He said: “It’s 99-point-something he will stay here. He’s very committed to be here and help the team.
“We only have that zero-point-something chance of craziness in football – you can never rule everything out. We’ve had no offers for him. None.”
Playing second fiddle to the long-awaited Toney return is Sergio Reguilón’s arrival, with the Spanish left-back set to fill the gaping hole left in Brentford’s defence following Rico Henry’s season-ending knee injury in September.
Sergio is a bee! 🐝
Reguilón has joined Brentford on loan from Tottenham Hotspur until the end of the season@premierleague | #BrentfordFC 🔴
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) January 17, 2024
Frank said: “We need him, but I also thinks that he needs us. He’s as close to a like-to-like replacement for Rico – same pace, aggressiveness, running in behind, so it’s a very positive move for us.”
Ethan Pinnock also returns to the Brentford starting line-up, after missing Tuesday’s 3-2 FA Cup replay loss away at Wolves.
Victory would ease fears of Brentford slipping into a relegation battle, especially with upcoming fixtures against Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool.
Frank, however, reiterated the importance of taking proceedings on a game-by-game basis.
“I never look five games ahead, and I think that’s why we manage to get good results against some of the big teams, as we believe we can beat any team at any ground,” he said.
