Brentford’s Brazilian striker coup shows a club ahead of the curve
BRENTFORD chose St Valentine’s Day to remind us why they have so many secret admirers. First, the annual accounts were published, with turnover up and profit down but still operating well within their means as they finished ninth, broke the club transfer record three times and saw Ivan Toney capped by England.
Then, the signing of Igor Thiago, a prolific centre forward from Club Bruges, out of the blue in a £31million postscript to a subdued transfer window. Thiago will join in the summer and the replacement will be in the building before the auction for Toney reaches full speed.
‘Ahead of the curve,’ said manager Thomas Frank, as clubs of this size need to be if they are to defy gravity in the Premier League and, as they invariably are, nimble in thought and light on their feet.
It remains to be seen how the 22-year-old Brazilian adapts to English football, but this has all the hallmarks of a classic coup by Brentford owner Matthew Benham and his recruitment team, led by director of football Phil Giles and technical director Lee Dykes.
They had been in negotiations with Bruges over the possible signing of winger Antonio Nusa, 18, when Thiago produced a festive cascade of goals.
Starting with two against Besiktas in the Europa Conference League, he scored 18 in 12 games across two months, which included a Christmas break. He only failed to score on one appearance and, in the middle, came a spell of 11 in six.
Thiago, strong, robust and good in the air, has drawn comparisons to a young Romelu Lukaku. He is not exactly like Toney because his natural instinct is to run behind rather than link up play.
He was sent off for a second yellow card in the final moments of the Bruges derby against Cercle yesterday.
When the proposed Nusa transfer hit a snag following a medical, Brentford were able to move quickly to strike an alternative deal.
Their recruitment experts had tracked Thiago out of the second tier of Brazilian football when he left Cruzeiro in March 2022, the first player they had sold since the takeover led by club icon Ronaldo.
After an impressive spell at Ludogorets in Bulgaria, Bruges paid a club-record £7.5m for him last summer and Premier League interest intensified with the midwinter goal spree in Belgium’s Pro League. Had Brentford waited until the summer with him scoring at the same rate, it is fair to say Thiago would have been out of their range, and they knew Bruges were keen to do business in January.
The advantages of striking early mean they can invite him to London during the international break next month, introduce him to the area and show him places where he may want to live.
Thiago can also improve his English and Frank knows he will be there on the first day of pre-season training.
Benham, Giles and Dykes have the pressure off as they prepare to sell Toney, who has scored four in five since his return from his ban. He has the goal power to secure their Premier League future while his value increases and so do his chances of making the England squad for the Euros, which would increase it further.
Brentford, meanwhile, enhance their reputation as a club who know who they are, what they’re doing and the right time to do it.