Ivan Toney has continued to ramp up his workload as he approaches a return to football. The Brentford striker hasn't played since May when his season was cut short after the FA ban placed on him due to breaches of betting rules, but after six months his is close to appearing once more.

The 27-year-old will be eligible for selection by Thomas Frank in competitive action on January 24, however there is a growing feeling that the next time he plays it could well be for a different club. Toney scored 20 times last year for the Bees in 33 games, only Erling Haaland and Harry Kane managed more in the Premier League, and has established himself as one of the best striker in the division.

His track record of improvement - he got 16 in 44 for Peterborough in League One before getting 24 in 32 the year after, his first and only Championship campaign was record-breaking with 31 in 45 before he got 12 goals in his first top flight attempt as well - matched with his profile has seen a huge price tag put on his head. It isn't set to dissuade potential suitors, though.

Both Arsenal and Chelsea are in the mix to buy the capped England forward and the opening months of this season have only gone to show their vulnerability in attack. With just over 18 months left on his contract in west London as well, Brentford may not be in a position of strength for much longer with regards to their star man/

Now, after opening up on the struggles of going four months away from his club, Toney has been back in training with the Bees and has already shown that he hasn't lost it, taking to social media several times in the past few weeks to prove his quality with clips from practice.

His latest action has been to work with Allan Russell - aka Superior Striker. The specialist attacking coach, who had a brief segment on Soccer AM, has become well known for his work with some clinical finishers around the world including England's national team and Kane himself.

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Russell's latest work has been with Toney and the pair have shared videos from inside their sessions online. In the first one Russell shows Toney striking in a volley before practicing a left footed finish from inside the box as well as explaining the mechanics of moving opening up a shot in a congested area.

The Scottish coach writes: "5 days striker training - 4 days of varied content based on areas Ivan needs to improve, maintain and to keep mastering his individual super power - 5th day is testing on all 4 areas and drills to monitor progress in his stats and efficiency levels [punch emoji] focused hungry and determined player with a killer mindset."

It is those last two points that have, alongside is impressive body of work, contributed to some of the best teams around looking at Toney. There is a sense of risk around buying a player for an expected price of around £60million - Frank has openly pushed that up to £100million - that hasn't been part of title-winning side or played in Europe but it is Toney's mentality that sets him apart.

Former chairman of Toney and the man to effectively hand him a big break at Peterborough, Darragh MacAnthony, has praised the former Newcastle man. "For me, the type of striker he is, when he's in form anywhere from £70million to £85million," he told talkSPORT.

"When you look at the market, he's got the best years ahead of him and I think he's a gamechanger." MacAnthony added: "Harry Kane at 30 went for [£80million]. People say the market is over inflated, [Manchester] United paid [£65million] for a striker [Rasmus Hojlund] with nearly a one in five goalscoring record. Ivan Toney will score you 25 Premier League goals every year will go for £25million more than that."

He also had no doubts over Toney bringing the reward to any team that takes a punt on him. "Chelsea should have done that [signed Toney] in August. Chelsea should have bought him in August and they'd have a readymade striker that's ready to go in January already in with the dressing room and manager. It's made no difference to them so they could have done it, they had the money, they should have bought him in August.

"Arsenal, instead of Havertz, should have bought him in August. Again, Havertz isn't going to make a difference to them winning the title, Ivan Toney guarantees the title and maybe they're nearer to Manchester City. He will guarantee one of those two clubs a title in the next two years."

Given the desire to have new signings succeed quickly there is a vested interest, then, for Arsenal and Chelsea in how Toney is preparing currently for his return. For Russell the second part of the session continued to work on situations that it is easy to see him finding at a top six side.

The clips once again show Toney working on his touch and movement inside the area with obstacles in his way, similar to that of a low-block that Arsenal and Chelsea so often face. "Weight transfer on balance compromised 1st time finishes inside production zone 1 and feeling angle of pressure in 1v1 situations ( how this dictates direction of your 1st & 2nd touch )," Russell writes as an explanation for the drills.

With Toney one of the players to watch in the next few months this is certainly something to take into account for those waiting to splash the cash on the next big goalscorer in England.