Toney ban means Bees could miss out on £50m

IVAN TONEY’S admission of breaching FA betting rules could cost Brentford tens of millions of pounds with a planned summer sale now in jeopardy due to his imminent ban. Brentford had intended to sell their star striker this summer, when he will have two years left on his contract, after talks over a new deal failed to progress earlier this season. The Bees now face a dilemma over whether to resume contract negotiations to protect their biggest asset and risk paying him millions when he is unavailable, or see Toney’s value dwindle from current estimates of around £50million. The 26-year-old is still on the five-year contract worth around £20,000-a-week he signed when joining Brentford from Peterborough three years ago and is understood to be seeking a significant pay rise in his next deal. Brentford have been resigned to cashing in on Toney at the end of the season amid interest from Manchester United and Newcastle, with the club’s business plan based on using their outstanding recruitment system to sign promising youngsters and sell them on at a huge profit.

Toney’s admission of guilt to many of the FA’s 262 charges of breaching gambling regulations has jeopardised that strategy, however, as he is facing a lengthy ban which could rule him out for much of next season. Brentford boss Thomas Frank backed Toney yesterday, following his striker’s complaints about his guilty plea being revealed by Sportsmail. ‘We share Ivan’s disappointment with leaks in a confidential case and the timing of them just before this international break,’ Frank said. ‘The talk of a potential ban is disappointing.’