Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has confirmed that the club were in the running to sign Ivan Toney’s signature before his big-money move to Saudi Arabia.
The England international’s future had been up in the air since the start of the transfer window, and he was linked with several clubs including Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs.
Man United opted to sign Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna, while Chelsea were more interested in Napoli striker Victor Osimhen.
Arsenal were reluctant to lure Toney to the Emirates Stadium, citing his attitude issues, and Spurs decided to trigger Dominic Solanke’s £65 million release clause to sign him from Bournemouth.
With his options getting thinner, the former Newcastle United striker ultimately decided to join Saudi club Al-Ahli, where he reportedly pockets around £400,000 per week.
“We did look at him [Toney],” Postecoglou said in his pre-match press conference (via talkSPORT).
“The reality of it is, and I think I’ve said, that Dom [Solanke] is the one I wanted, and it took us pretty much the whole summer to get him in because he’s the one that fits the profile that we were looking for.”
Solanke is still trying to find his feet at Tottenham, although injury problems have disrupted his early days at the club.
However, he returned to the fold in the 1-0 defeat against Arsenal, and he’ll be determined to open his goalscoring account against Brentford this weekend.
Solanke bagged 19 Premier League goals for Bournemouth last season, and Spurs will be hoping he can recapture his goalscoring form.
Spurs head into the game on the back of a confidence-boosting 2-1 comeback victory over Coventry City in the League Cup, although they’ve lost their last two Premier League matches.
Stats from Sofascore.com.
