9 months ago
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Rio Ferdinand feels Brentford striker Ivan Toney ‘won’t last long’ at Arsenal if he joins the club in the summer transfer window with a huge ego.
Arsenal made Toney their No.1 January target but were unable to strike a deal due to concerns over profit and sustainability rules, with Brentford wanting £100m.
The Gunners are expected to once again try to sign Toney at the end of the season with Brentford boss Thomas Frank admitting he will likely move on.
Arsenal face competition from Chelsea and Manchester United but the Englishman has previously dropped hints that the Emirates would be his preferred destination.
Ferdinand has played down Toney’s eyebrow-raising comments following Brentford’s 2-0 win at Wolves on Saturday, but has warned him that he cannot arrive at Arsenal in the summer with a big ego.
‘He said it in jest!’ Ferdinand told his podcast about Toney’s claim that his manager Frank does not want him.
‘I don’t think he would move like that [with a big ego]. I would be surprised. Remember, he has never played for a big club.
‘He’s going to go there and he will have to be respectful and know where he is in the pecking order.
‘There are some big players in there. Do you think he is going to come with that chat about Mikel Arteta when you have Declan Rice, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus?’
FIVE host Joel Beya, on the podcast with Ferdinand, then chimed in and claimed that Toney has ‘next-level confidence’ and that ‘he thinks no-one can chat to him’.
‘Then he won’t last long then,’ Ferdinand added. ‘I don’t think that is him, but if he goes into the dressing room, a strong dressing room like Arsenal, and thinks, ‘No one can chat to me’ – that’s where the dressing room will be tested. The manager wouldn’t have to say anything. He would be opened up.’
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