Thomas Frank speaks on Ivan Toney's future

Brenford manager Thomas Frank has revealed his desire to keep Ivan Toney next month amid interest from Arsenal and Chelsea.

The England international netted 20 goals in the Premier League last term but he was eventually suspended for breaching FA betting rules.

Toney will be back in action from January 18 onwards and reports claim that he may have already played his final game for the club.

Arsenal are said to be favourites to land his signature, but Frank has insisted that he would personally prefer to keep Toney for the season.

He said: "Desperate is a big word. I'd really, really like to keep him. I'm a head coach. I'd love to have my best players with me all the time."

"I don't know about that. You'll have to ask Arsenal. Ivan is a Brentford player. No bids. I want to keep him and he's looking forward to playing for us."

The Gunners are currently lagging behind in the centre-forward department in the league. No one has netted more than five goals this term.

This is not sufficient enough to compete for the title and the club need a potential upgrade in the New Year to challenge Man City and Liverpool.