Peterborough United will sell Ivan Toney for £12 million in the transfer window, but only if he’s loaned straight back to Posh, Marcus Maddison could link up with former boss and a new goalkeeper was part of the abandoned Maddison to Birmingham City transfer

MacAnthony was a guest on Sky Sports News tonight (January 29) when he was quizzed on transfer rumours surrounding Toney and wantaway star Marcus Maddison.

The chairman revealed the club’s asking price for Toney is £10 million plus £2 million in add ons and that intense discussions with a top four Championship side had taken place without an agrement being reached.

The top four in the Championship now are Leeds United, West Brom, Nottingham Forest and Fulham.

“Two of the current top four in the Championship are keen on Ivan,” MacAnthony said. “And I did meet up with one of them after they’d made four bids. I told them what the club expected which was a £10 million fee and £2 million in add ons.

“But any deal also had to involve Ivan coming straight back to us on loan because we want to win promotion this season. I’m not about to sell promotion down the river, not even for £10 million. I even said they could pay in the summer as we don’t need the money.

“The club told me we only had a 7.5% statistical chance of winning promotion anyway so why not sell him to them now. I did not like that approach so I said do the deal now and still a march on the rest of the clubs after him as in the summer when there will be two Premier League clubs interested.

“They went away, but came back and said they couldn’t do the fee right now. We are not budging. Ivan Toney will be a Peterborough United player for the rest of the season no matter what.

“Ivan knows about the interest and probably wants to go, but we’ve told him that if we’re not in the Championship in the summer of course we will sell him. He’s a great lad, we love him. I think he’s the best player outside the top two divisions and a lot of other people think that as well. He hasn’t given us a moment’s worry since we told him.

“As for Marcus Maddison he turned down a contract offer from us as he wanted to play in the Championship. We’ve delivered on that by agreeing deals with Charlton, Birmingham and another mid-table club. Birmingham isn’t now happening and the third club are trying to sell two players tomorrow before they try to get Marcus.

“Marcus probably won’t get into our side right now so he needs to leave.”

It’s thought Hull City, managed by former Posh boss Grant McCann, are interested in Maddison. Hull are expected to lose star winger Kamil Grosicki to West Brom this week leaving a vacancy for Maddison.

Maddison is out of contract at the end of the current season so could then leave for nothing. He has a £2.5 million release clause in his existing deal.

The Peterborough Telegraph understands goalkeeper David Stockdale was part of the potential deal with Birmingham. Stockdale has subsequently joined Wycombe.