Chelsea could miss out on two striker targets - due to the lure of Saudi

Toney, 28, has racked up 36 goals in 85 top-flight appearances for the Bees - but made no secret of his desire to move to a bigger club, and did not feature in Thomas Frank’s first two matchday squads of the season due to transfer speculation.

The England striker has one year left on his deal in London, but Brentford are keen to get what they can for him now rather than lose him for nothing next summer. Sky Sports reported in January that the club valued him at £100m, but that asking price has had to drop significantly and the deal reportedly agreed this morning stands at £40m.

Either way, it will represent a tidy profit over the roughly £6m the Bees paid to sign Toney from Peterborough in 2020.

It comes after reports suggesting Chelsea were in talks with Brentford over a deal for Toney as the hierarchy at Stamford Bridge were concerned they might not be able to lock down their first choice striker in Napoli’s Victor Osimhen. Now, though, the Blues are faced with the prospect of both their targets moving to Saudi.

Chelsea have been heavily linked with 25-year-old Osimhen throughout the window but have struggled to agree a deal. It has been reported that the London club wanted to bring him in on a loan with an obligation to buy - Napoli have themselves lined up a replacement for Osimhen by signing Romelu Lukaku from none other than Chelsea themselves.

Now, though, it appears that Al-Ahli have beaten them to it, agreeing a £67m permanent transfer on a salary reportedly worth £33.6m a season. That is likely to far exceed anything Chelsea could have offered as they look to keep their wage bill under control.

If the deals go through, it will leave Chelsea scrambling for an alternative striker before the transfer window closes at 11pm tonight. However, Sky Sports have reported that Al-Ahli might not have room for both players in a saga likely to go on throughout deadline day.