Man United suffer fresh Ivan Toney transfer blow as record signing injured

Manchester United have suffered a blow in any potential move for Ivan Toney after Brentford confirmed that new striker Igor Thiago has sustained a knee injury.

United have already signed a centre forward this summer in the form of Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna for £35.8m, but that has not stopped them from being linked with adding another to their squad. Toney has emerged as someone who could make the switch to Old Trafford.

The 28-year-old struggled for form during the second half of last season after returning from his eighth month betting ban. That didn't stop Gareth Southgate from selecting him for the England squad at Euro 2024. During the 2022/23 season, Toney scored an impressive 21 goals in 35 appearances.

However, if United did fancy dipping into the market for the forward, Brentford may be even more reluctant to sell now after it was confirmed that summer signing Thiago, who joined the club from Club Brugge for a club record £30million earlier this month, has suffered a meniscus injury.

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Thiago picked up the problem during Brentford's pre-season friendly against AFC Wimbledon last Saturday. He had scored twice in a 5-2 win. A statement released by Brentford said: "The striker is unavailable for this evening's game against Benfica and will have further scans next week to determine the extent of the injury. More information will be released in due course."

This comes after ex-United midfielder Paul Scholes urged the club to try and sign a centre forward that can "guarantee goals". Rasmus Hojlund