Chelsea have been urged to sign Arsenal target Ivan Toney – but not until the summer.
Ex-Blues left-back Wayne Bridge believes “aggressive and clinical” Toney needs time to regain his sharpness after his eight-month playing ban ends on January 17.
Former England star Bridge told BetVictor: “Chelsea need a striker, which is crazy when you look at the money that they’ve spent.
“I like Ivan Toney a lot. If he can get back his match fitness and score a few goals for Brentford for the rest of the season then he could be a great signing in the summer.
“I don’t think Chelsea should make any moves in January.
“I’d give it until the summer as in January you often end up paying over the odds and they need to avoid rushing into a decision this month like they’ve often done in the past.
“Look at when they bought Fernando Torres a few years back and how that worked out! They need to take their time.”
Ex-Arsenal full-back Mikael Silvestre believes Kylian Mbappe will demand assurances over whether a club can win big competitions, should he move to the Premier League.
The Gunners and Liverpool have been linked with ambitious approaches for the PSG striker, despite claims Real Madrid have agreed a summer swoop with the French hero.
Silvestre told GGRecon: “He will want to be in a position where he can pick the best team and the best manager to give him the greatest chance of winning the Champions League and the Ballon d’Or, which are two things on his wish-list.
“He won’t rush his decision. If PSG win the Champions League this season, then he may consider staying in Paris, but we need to wait and see how they get on first against Real Sociedad in the round of 16.
“With Real Madrid and the Premier League teams, I think he’s going to wait and see."
Gunners icon Emmanuel Petit has slammed winger Marquinhos.
The Brazilian, 20, has spent this season on loan at Nantes.
Asked about his progress, Petit told Dazn Bet: “There is no progress with Marquinhos at all. Nothing, nothing happened. You know why? It’s funny because yesterday, the manager, he spoke to the press about Marquinhos. He said [they] are fed up with him.
“This guy, as soon as he came in August, he left to play with the Brazilian team at the tournament.
“He came back injured and then now he’s fit, he wants to play again at the Olympic tournament with his national team.
“So he played only seven games, he didn’t make any impact. It’s been six months at the club, seven games in six months, and now he wants to leave and play for the national team again.”
Chelsea have been urged to sign Arsenal target Ivan Toney - but not until the summer.
Ex-Blues left-back Wayne Bridge believes "aggressive and clinical" Toney needs time to regain his sharpness after his eight-month playing ban ends on January 17.
Former England star Bridge told BetVictor: "Chelsea need a striker, which is crazy when you look at the money that they’ve spent.
“I like Ivan Toney a lot. If he can get back his match fitness and score a few goals for Brentford for the rest of the season then he could be a great signing in the summer.
“I don’t think Chelsea should make any moves in January.
"I’d give it until the summer as in January you often end up paying over the odds and they need to avoid rushing into a decision this month like they’ve often done in the past.
"Look at when they bought Fernando Torres a few years back and how that worked out! They need to take their time.”
Cottagers hope to keep Arsenal & Bayern target Palhinha
Star midfielder Palhinha could yet stay at Fulham, writes ANDY DILLON.
Bayern Munich are launching a fresh bid for the Portuguese hero, who is also believed to be on Arsenal's radar, having failed with a late bid during the summer transfer window.
Back then the six times European Cup winners offered £65 million plus a further £7m in add-ons.
But the deal collapsed when Fulham could not secure a replacement.
SunSport understands that Bayern have now bizarrely dropped their offer by around £10m at a time when transfer fees normally increase in the middle of the season.
And stubborn Fulham are now digging in and refusing to sell at the lower price.
Emilie Smith Rowe has revealed that he has returned from injury quicker than first expected.
He said: "I’m feeling good now – I’ve been back in training for a while and it’s all good at the moment.
"I don’t think I did anything differently in rehab, I just felt a lot better with it this time.
"At first we thought the injury would be a bit longer, but I started feeling really good after just a few weeks, so then I kicked on and I’m feeling good now as well."
