'Peak' Ivan Toney handed stark Saudi Arabia transfer warning - 'Such a waste of him' - The Mirror

Ivan Toney's next move remains unclear with Brentford keen to cash in and Saudi Arabia has emerged as an options despite some advising the England striker to turn down such a move

Chris Sutton has told Ivan Toney that moving to Saudi Arabia should be a "no-no" whilst he remains at the peak of his powers.

The Brentford frontman is heavily linked with a move away and was left out of the team's Premier League opener whilst the noise around his future continues. The Bees want to maximise their profits if they do let Toney leave with his contract expiring at the end of the campaign.

Saudi Arabia has emerged as an option with a lack of domestic suitors coming forward. Toney's availability for free in 12 months has seen several buyers content to bide their time, but those in the Middle East are ready to throw huge sums to land the England frontman.

The riches on offer have tempted several players at their peak - the Premier League has seen the likes of Aleksandar Mitrović and Ruben Neves have their head turned - but Sutton is adamant that Toney has too much to offer to move to Saudi outfit Al-Hilal, who have entered the party.

He told the BBC Radio 5 Live : “At this stage of his career, I think Saudi is a no-no. He has proven himself in the Premier League and he has all the attributes. His link up, his physicality, set-piece [ability] and his all-round play have developed really well.

"You can have all the money in the world but this is Ivan Toney at his peak and I would like to see him stay in the Premier League. I would go to Saudi Arabia when I was 35 and past it."

Arsenal were touted as an option for Toney with Mikel Arteta tipped to land a new forward. Chelsea have emerged as a potential destination as their free-spending nature continues whilst Sutton also believes Manchester United would prove an ideal fit for Toney.

He added: "This is such a waste for Ivan Toney. That doesn’t mean he can’t go to Saudi and then come back to the Premier League, but why doesn’t he just wait another season and then get a move? He’s 28, his career was flourishing then he had the ban, but then he had the high of the Euros at the summer.

"He is in a really good place at the moment. From Brentford’s point of view, at £50m, you can understand why they would sell him for that amount with a year left on his contract. Purely from a footballing perspective, that would be such a waste of him going to Saudi. Manchester United are striker-less at this moment in time, he would be a good fit there."

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