Ivan Toney left out of Brentford squad due to ‘transfer interest’ in striker | Brentford

Thomas Frank has revealed that Ivan Toney is not in Brentford’s squad for Sunday’s clash with Crystal Palace because there is “a lot of interest in the England striker due to transfers”.

The 28-year-old is entering the final year of his contract and has made no secret of his desire to leave Brentford, with Arsenal, Chelsea and Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli all linked with a move. Although Frank admitted a move was “not close”, he opted to leave Toney out of his squad for the opening game of the Premier League season.

“There’s a lot going on with Ivan, especially with transfers – there’s a lot of interest in transfers. Because of all that we’ve decided not to include him in the squad,” the Brentford manager told Sky Sports ahead of kick-off.

“I can’t give too much away the day before,” the Brentford manager added. “Of course Ivan is a top player, we all know that. He’s been fantastic for us for four years, but we showed last season that we can do without him.”

Asked if Toney – who came on as a substitute in Brentford’s final pre-season friendly against Wolfsburg last week – had played his last game for the club, he added: “Who knows? There is interest but it’s not close.”

Crystal Palace captain Marc Guéhi was selected by Oliver Glasner to start Sunday’s match despite continued interest from Newcastle. Palace are said to have rejected the Magpies’ latest bid, worth £65m, but chairman Steve Parish has admitted he has held talks with Newcastle’s sporting director Paul Mitchell and that other clubs have also shown interest in the England centre-back.

“We’re always very respectful when we get an offer for a player,” Parish told TalkSport. “We’re very respectful of Newcastle United and Paul Mitchell is someone I have an incredible amount of time for. I’ve known him for a long time, he’s been very, very good to me in football and we have a good relationship. So, he and I have spoken about this.

“It is inevitable that the agents are involved and have a point of view, they are nice guys. We have also had discussions with other clubs that have shown interest (in Guéhi).”

Parish also said that Palace could end their interest in re-signing Wilfried Zaha, with tax issues preventing a loan from Galatasaray. “I would have Wilf Zaha back straight away. Unfortunately it looks like it won’t be possible this summer,” he added.