Banned Ivan Toney struck secret deal with FA to let him train at Brentford

Ivan Toney has been training with Brentford for nearly two months after striking a secret deal with the FA – despite being banned from all footballing activities until January.

The 27-year-old was suspended for eight months back in May after being charged with over 200 breaches of FA betting laws. The governing body granted him permission to return to training in mid-September (half-way through his ban), though footage has emerged of Toney at Brentford's training ground on August 1.

As it turns out, this was secretly agreed to by the FA, who granted the striker "dispensation" to return early. Responding to news of the footage, Brentford released a statement saying: "Ivan Toney was given dispensation by the Football Association to attend club premises during his suspension from football-related activity for rehabilitation work after he suffered a hamstring injury that caused him to miss matches in May."

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The club added: "That rehabilitation work involved individual sessions with strength and conditioning coaches and medical staff, including with a football, as per Ivan’s recovery plan. There have been no breaches of FA sanctions, all of which were strictly observed by both the club and Ivan."

In the video, obtained by The Sun, Toney can be seen jogging around one of Brentford's training pitches as part of a solo fitness session with first-team conditioning coach Matt Bramhall. The Bees want him fit and ready to return to action when his ban ends on January 17, though they may end up struggling to keep him at the club.

Will Toney still be a Brentford player in February? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

A number of teams are considering a mid-season swoop for the England man, including Arsenal and goal-barren Chelsea. Prior to his ban Brentford were reportedly demanding around £80million for him, but he's now expected to fetch a fee of around £60m.

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Toney has netted 68 goals in 124 games for the west London club, and finished third in the Premier League goalscoring charts behind Erling Haaland and Harry Kane last season with 20 goals. He joined Brentford for £5m from Peterborough in 2019, and also had stints with Newcastle and Northampton as well as several loan spells in League One.

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