Chelsea growing confident of signing Ivan Toney

Chelsea are growing confident of signing Brentford striker Ivan Toney during the January transfer window.

The 27-year-old had a splendid Premier League campaign last term with 20 goals before he was suspended for breaching betting rules.

Toney is not permitted to play again until mid-January, but the striker will be allowed to train with his teammates starting this weekend.

It is now reported by Simon Phillips that the Blues are repeating the trick which helped them sign Moises Caicedo from Brighton.

The Blues personally spoke with the player to convince him, and they were able to beat Liverpool to his signature as a result of this.

Talks are already ongoing behind the scenes between Chelsea and Toney's camp as they line up a January approach for his services.

Brentford are aware of the high-profile interest in their striker, but they are unlikely to sanction his sale for anything less than £80m.

Arsenal and Liverpool have also been linked with the former Newcastle United and Peterborough man over the past 12 months.