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Thomas Frank makes significant Ivan Toney U-turn - two days after Brentford hint

  /  autty

Brentford boss Thomas Frank made a sharp U-turn over the availability of Ivan Toney - with the England international absent from the Bees' squad for their Premier League clash against Crystal Palace.

Toney had been expected to feature at the G-tech Stadium against the Eagles, having been involved in Brentford's last pre-season match against Wolfsburg. Despite entering the final year of his contract in west London, with no interest in extending his deal, the forward has not seen a move come to fruition.

Frank even went as far as to say he was hopeful of keeping the star forward, who played for England at Euro 2024. The Danish coach declared that Toney would be available to play on Sunday afternoon in his press conference.

"The fresh news is that he trained out there with a big smile on his face - he looks sharp, with a good attitude, and is available for Sunday," he said on Friday.

"As long as I have Ivan I am very happy and that's hopefully for another year because he's a fantastic player. We've had four great years together and we're hoping for another year," he added.

"We know there's speculation and back and forths but let's just enjoy the moment and let's look one day ahead and see what happens."

That remark, however, unfolded more quickly than Frank anticipated. While Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea have all been touted to make a late move for Toney, suitors from the Saudi Pro League have also emerged.

The 28-year-old is the subject of interest from Al-Ahli and Brentford are said to prefer to sell Toney in the coming days rather than lose him for a free next summer. With the prospect of a move, the decision was made not to include the former Newcastle striker.

Frank told Sky Sports : "There’s a lot of things going on with Ivan, there’s some transfer interest. Because of all that, we decided not to involve him in the squad.

"It's the classic one - I couldn't give too much the day before. He's been a fantastic player for us, but we showed last year especially that we can deal without him.

Frank was asked if Toney had already played his last game for the club and added: "Who knows? There's interest, but there's nothing close."

Related: Brentford