"It needs to be an unbelievable price" - Thomas Frank explains Brentford's stance over Arsenal and Chelsea target Ivan Toney

Brentford boss Thomas Frank has insisted Ivan Toney will remain at the club despite interest from Arsenal and Chelsea in the striker.

The Independent reports that the Bees have placed a £100 million price tag on Toney. The 27-year-old is yet to play for his club this season after serving an eight-month ban for breaching Premier League betting rules.

However, Toney is set to return to action at the end of the month when his ban ends. His future is somewhat up in the air as Arsenal and Chelsea have set their sights on signing him.

Frank expects the England international to stay at the Gtech Community Stadium. He claims that it would take an 'unbelievable' offer for the forward to depart (via transfer expert Fabrizio Romano):

"Yes, he’s staying. He is a Brentford player. I can’t see why we would sell him and I would love to have him for a longer time. It needs to be an unbelievable price. So he will stay here."

Toney was in excellent form last season, posting 21 goals and five assists in 35 games across competitions. He finished third in the Premier League goalscoring charts (20 goals in 33 games), behind Erling Haaland and Harry Kane.

Arsenal are viewed as favorites to sign the former Newcastle United youngster. Mikel Arteta's side have ran into issues on the goalscoring front. Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka, and Gabriel Martinelli have managed just 11 Premier League goals between them.

Meanwhile, Chelsea have also been keeping tabs but they need to make significant sales to comply with FFP. The likes of Ian Maatsen and Trevoh Chalobah have been made available for sale.

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Fabrizio Romano explains why Arsenal and Chelsea target Toney's price tag has shot up

Mauricio Pochettino and Mikel Arteta will have to fork out a hefty fee for Ivan Toney.

A lack of strikers being available on the market is why Brentford have increased their valuation of Toney. That's according to transfer expert Romano who gave an update on the situation (via CaughtOffside):

"Rumours started in November about an asking price of around £60-65m, but then Brentford understood that there are no other top strikers available on the market, and so now the idea of Brentford is something more like £90-100m for Toney this January."

Arsenal and Chelsea's financial situations mean such a deal is viewed as unlikely. But, Romano does suggest that interested clubs could look at striking an initial loan deal with a view to a permanent big-money deal this month:

“I don’t think it’s going to be easy, and any teams interested in Toney might have to be creative, so maybe a loan deal, but only if there is an obligation to buy. So, only if there is a guaranteed sale of Toney, and only for big money."

The Gunners reached a similar agreement with the Bees in the summer when they signed goalkeeper David Raya. The Spaniard joined on loan for £3 million with a view to a permanent £27 million deal.