Brentford went to town this summer, spending £82 million, which included welcoming their most expensive ever signing in Club Brugge striker Igor Thiago.
Despite splashing the cash, the Bees seem to have gone under the radar and slowly but surely completed some very shrewd business even if they have paid slightly over the market value for a couple of acquisitions.
The West London club's five incomings were all in demand but opted for Brentford when sold the project by head coach Thomas Frank.
What’s more, the Bees have beaten out a number of top-level competitors in their pursuit of players signatures, an indication of the club’s ambition.
At an average age of 20 and three out of the five newcomers likely to be key components in Frank’s plans, Brentford have softened Ivan Toney’s departure with statement signings.
“Statement” Sepp Van den Berg
When Dutch central defender Sepp Van den Berg completed a £25 million move from Liverpool to Brentford, the Bees head coach Frank explained to VAVEL that the signing was a “statement” of intent from the West London outfit.
It was reported that both Frank’s side and Bundesliga Invincibles Bayer Leverkusen had agreed a fee for the 22-year-old.
“I heard the rumours about Leverkusen,” admitted the Dane.
"If that's true then it's a statement that players want to come to us over top clubs.”
While some may criticise making a relatively unknown entity like Van den Berg, who was limited to a handful of appearances in Merseyside, their most expensive ever centre-back signing - the summer acquisition was shrewd business nonetheless.
Having burst onto the scene at PEC Zwolle in the Eredivisie, the Reds splashed £4.4 million on the then 17-year-old, clearly identifying the abundance of potential despite just 22 appearances for his hometown team.
After only featuring for that year’s Premier League champions in the cup, the eight-capped Netherlands U21 sealed a loan deal to the Championship’s Preston North End for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons, which gifted him regular football.
A forgettable stint at Schalke 04 followed as his Liverpool “dream” was gradually beginning to fade.
That was until Mainz 05 secured the Dutchman’s services on a season-long loan last summer and unlocked Van den Berg’s potential.
For much of the campaign, it looked as though Mainz would suffer the drop or at least seal their fate in the relegation play-offs; however, the loanee’s standout performances ensured their top-flight status.
Winning the second-most aerial duels in Germany’s premier competition (806) with 5.42 per 90 minutes, he was also one of the toppers for clearances (5.04) and blocks per 90 (2.09).
Given the Bees are renowned for their threat from set-pieces, accumulating 20 goals since their 2021 promotion – a league-high, centre-backs are crucial.
Interestingly enough, Nathan Collins (2), Ethan Pinnock (2), Ben Mee (2), Kristoffer Ajer (1) and Mathias Jorgensen (1), all netted less last season than Van den Berg with a tally of three.
Moreover, before Van den Berg’s arrival, the Bees central defence had an average age of 28.5, but the introduction of the honouree scouser and Brentford B promotee Ji-soo Kim brought it down a couple of years to 25.83.
Staying with aerial statics, in terms of duals won, the defender’s impressive 185 at a success rate of 68.7 percent put him in the 97 percentile in the Bundesliga.
He ranked second highest for shots blocked too, with 36 during the season. And recorded a top speed of 34.78 km/h, which will provide some much-needed recovery pace at the back.
While the Dutchman is competent on the ball, he is not quite worthy of being labelled as a ball-playing centre-back.
That being said, for a side that ranks 16th in the Premier League with an average possession of 40.3%, his more orthodox style will suit a very counter-attacking Brentford side as he will be asked to defend a lot.
Overall, Van den Berg excelled at Die Nullfunfer and enjoyed a breakthrough campaign that “ticked a lot of boxes” for the Bees and therefore justified the transfer even if the fee was a little high.
A timely end to the Toney saga and his readymade replacement
Ivan Toney sealed a £40 million switch to the Saudi Pro League when he put pen to paper on a lucrative deal for Al-Ahli on Friday, with the club providing the confirmation that bided a timely farewell to the 28-year-old in the early hours of Saturday morning.
In the end, everyone, most of all those with a vested interest in the west Londoners, grew tired of the never-ending transfer saga, none more so than Frank during pressers.
Toney entered the final year of his contract this summer, and the Bees had no choice but to sell if they wanted to cash in on their talisman rather than risk losing him for nothing.
At times the relationship between the club and the player had seemed a little strained; however, the England international departed on good terms - Frank crowning him a “Brentford legend”.
With that, Brentford can now turn their attention to a readymade replacement in Igor Thiago.
Despite negotiations being concluded earlier in the year for Thiago’s £31 million switch from Club Brugge to the Premier League, he was not welcomed until summer commenced.
The 23-year-old being the Bees most expensive ever signing suggests the club are putting a lot of faith in the striker.
However, things could not have got off to a worse start when he suffered a meniscus injury during the 5-2 pre-season victory over AFC Wimbledon in July and is expected to miss the rest of 2024.
That aside, on return Thiago will prove his worth for the West London club.
To replace someone who netted 72 times and contributed 23 assists in 141 games, more than one goal every two games, is borderline impossible.
So while the Spaniard is a downgrade on Toney, he is not a downgrade for Brentford.
The third-best goalscorer in the Belgian pro league last season, Thiago certainly has an eye for goal. Twenty-nine goals and six assists in 55 matches in all competitions and 16 and two in the regular league campaign is admirable.
Before his move to Club Brugge, the forward bagged 20 goals and 11 assists for Bulgarian side Ludogorets.
His goals per 90 went up from 0.69 in Bulgaria to 0.78 in Belgium last year, which shows he is capable of acclimatising to new leagues relatively quickly.
Diving deeper into the stats, he averaged 0.74 goals and assists per 90 minutes, an improvement on Toney’s 0.57, although the Englishman does play in the much tougher league.
Boasting inflated numbers like these tees Thiago up nicely for a maiden campaign in the Premier League. The fact that the 23-year-olds numbers would have to drop off considerably to match Toney bodes well.
Finally, in terms of style, Bart Tamsyn, Transfermarkt’s Belgium football expert, explains that they are similar.
“He is certainly not the player who waits in the box for the ball. You can play long balls up to him under pressure and he’s good at then knowing how to use his body well to keep up with the ball and let the rest of the team connect.
"Mentally he is also really good. He is competitive and will not neglect his defensive duties.”
Left-back hole plugged?
With the Bees bereft of wide defenders following the news of another “tough and devastating” injury setback for Aaron Hickey, additional reinforcements in that department, particularly left-back, seemed to become a priority in the dying embers of the transfer window.
Just days before, Frank confirmed that Rico Henry would return to the first team fold after the international break.
Unfortunately, you have to take the rough with the smooth in football, and Hickey’s setback prolonged the full-back injury crisis.
For the last year, the Dane has managed to find alternative solutions to the problem and remains “confident” that Brentford will be “competitive”.
Kristoffer Ajer, a centre-back by trade, although accustomed to interchanging with right-back, has started the campaign filling in for the absent Henry on the left. While Mads Roerslev remains the only recognised full-back available, operating on the opposite side.
Interestingly enough, in the narrow 1-0 Carabao Cup victory over League Two Colchester United Brentford deployed two conventional midfielders in Vitaly Janelt and Ryan Trevitt as full-backs.
To have several flexible players is “useful in many aspects" to the Dane.
In the last presser before Transfer Deadline Day, VAVEL asked the Bees boss whether the club would look to sign anyone in that area.
“We are always looking out there. As I said earlier, we’ve got enough cover to get by and find solutions, but like other positions, if we can get someone who fits what we want, then we’ll do it.”
And they did, Southampton U21 Jayden Meghoma.
The defender signed a four-year contract with Brentford, and the club retains an option to extend the deal by an additional two years.
Having only put pen to paper on his first professional contract in July 2023, Meghoma made four appearances for the Saints last season, all in the FA Cup.
Frank believes the England U19 international can help “this season and in the future”, calling him “one of the biggest left-back talents this country has”.
In similar vein to Henry, the 18-year-old is fast, a good dribbler and crosser of the ball, who likes to develop a strong relationship with his winger.
Deputising for the long-serving Brentford defender will be invaluable for Meghoma and ready him to take over the reins when the time comes.
The acquisition of a reinvigorated Fabio Carvalho
The arrival of Fabio Carvalho for a reported £22 million was another example of shrewd business from the Bees.
Despite beginning last season with an unsuccessful loan spell at RB Leipzig that saw Liverpool recall Carvalho in the new year owing to his limited amount of game time in the Bundesliga, just 360 minutes across all competitions, he joined the Championship’s Hull City in January and reinvigorated his career.
Reminiscent of his breakthrough campaign at Fulham in the 2021-22 season, the 22-year-old netted nine times and contributed two assists as the Tigers came agonisingly close to a play-off spot.
More importantly, he flourished being deployed centrally in Liam Rosenior’s possession-based system.
While Brentford, as mentioned earlier, have only averaged 40.3 percent possession this season, the fact that Carvalho showed he could be a consistent standout performer in the central attacking role ended a tedious position debate surrounding the youngster.
Already, it seems that Frank has also bought into Carvalho as a central attacker.
Against Southampton, he substituted him on for Mikkel Damsgaard in the 82nd minute to play as one of the two more advanced midfielders in front of the screening Christian Norgaard.
As well as that, the Fulham academy product made his first start in red and white as a No 10 in the 2-0 Carabao Cup win over Colchester.
Brentford have also proven to be a good club for making the jump from the Championship to the top tier of English football, with the likes of Ethan Pinnock, Rico Henry, Christian Norgaard and Ivan Toney, enjoying success.
That being said, winger Keane Lewis-Potter has struggled since he made the move from Yorkshire to London, with four goals in 47 appearances.
Given the long-term injury of Thiago, there will be opportunities for Carvalho to feature in his more desired role, through the middle; however, it remains to be seen whether he can prove himself in the Premier League.
Exciting Prospects
After a series of complications, the Bees completed the signing of Brazilian winger Gustavo Nunes from Gremio for a fee in excess of £10 million on a six-year contract with the option of an additional two years.
The highly rated 18-year-old had been pursued all summer by a whole host of clubs; however, once again, Brentford came out on top against the competition, the major factor – Thomas Frank.
"Brentford was the first club to make an offer. I had a really good conversation with the representatives, and it was the club I chose. It is an incredible feeling. I am glad to be here at such a huge club.
"Thomas Frank is a manager who will help me improve a lot; he will help me do a good job and grow. Brentford fans can expect to see a lot of one-on-one dribbling, speed and goals!,” he said.
A return of ten goals and six assists in 46 games for Gremio across all competitions is respectable.
While the number of first-team matches under his belt at such a tender age is the more impressive feat and shows Tricolor never felt their faith was never misplaced.
Frank constantly used the adjective “exciting” to sum up the mood surrounding the transfer and thriving in attributes such as one-on-one dribbling means he is sure to get the Brentford supporters out of their seats.
Over time, this one will bear fruit.
The Verdict
Brentford are highly regarded for their transfer dudilegence that is spearheaded by the Bees data heavy approach.
This window bears the fruit of the West London club's labour.
On the face of it, Carvalho is Frank's side's most notable signing; however, Thiago is an adequate Toney replacement and there was a reason why Van den Berg was pursued by German runaway champions and runners-up Leverkusen and Stuttgart respectively.
Overall, it has been a solid summer.
