Frank concedes Toney is likely to fly the Bees' nest this summer

Thomas Frank has admitted it is "obvious" Brentford will probably sell Ivan Toney this summer.

Toney was heavily linked with a move away from the Bees in January but his Danish boss says no official bids were received.

The 27-year-old recently returned from an eight-month FA ban for gambling breaches and scored on his first game back against Nottingham Forest.

Arsenal and Chelsea are said to be keen on the England forward, who has scored 34 goals in 71 Premier League appearances.

But while Frank was adamant Toney would not leave in January, the Dane claims he is resigned to losing his talisman in the summer.

He told Danish magazine Tipsbladet: "It is relatively obvious that Ivan Toney will probably be sold this summer. 

"It can be 'expensive' to sell your best player, but conversely I also know that this summer he only has one year left on his contract with us.

"We also know what he is worth. I don't think there are many strikers in the world who are better than him right now.

"I would prefer to keep Toney but one day it could be fun to see him in a top team.

"This winter, we actually had no bids for him, but it would surprise me if there aren't a lot of clubs interested in him."

Meanwhile, Brentford have condemned the "vile harassment" of Toney after the striker was the target of online racist abuse.

A statement said: "We are angered and frustrated to report that Ivan Toney has been subjected to racist abuse on Instagram once more.

"We have initiated investigations into this vile harassment which we condemn in the strongest terms.

"Sadly, this isn't the first time Ivan has had to deal with this. A similar incident occurred just four weeks ago, leading us to identify an alleged perpetrator whom we reported to the authorities. 

"To date, we have yet to see any action taken against that individual."