Brentford manager Thomas Frank says he wants to hold on to Ivan Toney amid transfer speculation linking him with a move away – but is confident that there are goals in the side while he is suspended.
The England international was handed an eight-month ban by the Football Association in May after admitting to 232 breaches of regulations related to betting. Despite the fact he won’t return to action until January 2024, he has been linked with Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham.
The Bees have not missed his presence up front so far this season, scoring five goals in their opening two Premier League games.
Frank believes that Saturday’s 3-0 win over local rivals Fulham shows that they can cope without Toney and backs up his decision not to buy a replacement in the transfer window.
Yoane Wissa, who is playing up top in Toney’s stead, scored the opener against Fulham to add to his strike against Tottenham last week, while Bryan Mbeumo has found the net three times, with two of those coming from the spot.
“I’m very pleased with [Wissa],” he told Sky Sports. “His goal is not as easy as it looks. He has to stay composed. His link-up play was really good. He could have scored one more goal.
“I prefer to keep Ivan, of course, but we were quite confident that Wissa and Mbeumo will provide us goals. So will [Keane] Lewis-Potter and [Kevin] Schade. That’s why we haven’t brought in another striker.”
Wissa got Brentford off the mark late in the first half before Mbeumo doubled their lead from the spot in the 66th minute. The penalty was awarded following a clumsy challenge from Tim Ream, who was subsequently sent off. The 24-year-old grabbed his second in injury time.
“It was such a good day for the fans. Local derby and we won. Very pleased for that. The first half was very even, not too much either way. Fulham are a good side. We were very dangerous second half. At 2-0, 11 against 10, it should be game over and it was game over.”
The Danish coach said the penalty was a “big moment” in the game. “We were the better side at that stage so it was more than likely we’d score. For me it’s a penalty. He’s in front of Ream and there’s clear contact.”
He added: “Very pleased with that clean sheet, so important for the team and [Mark] Flekken and [Nathan] Collins.”
