For the entire summer, though Brentford were heavily involved in two of the biggest deals where they lost two huge players in Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, it felt like they were an afterthought in both sagas.
The Bees lost more than just players; their magnetic, excellent manager, Thomas Frank, went to Tottenham Hotspur.
In what felt like a transfer window when the elite clubs wanted to regain their reputation as the leagues gold standard, the big teams werent afraid to show the ones with fewer resources who was boss; perhaps, in retaliation to how many of them were embarrassed in the 2024/2025 Premier League season with Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United finishing in awful positions.
Under Frank, regardless of how the league changed, the quality evolved, or how physical it became, they always found a new, innovative way to gain points.
Be it scoring from kick-offs a remarkable amount of times or utilising long throws before every team in the league adapted the tactic.
But even a club that had succeeded as well as Brentford in the Premier League was always going to suffer from losing their strike partnership and manager.
New manager Keith Andrews was handed a tough run of opening fixtures against Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United.
The bees have steadily picked up points at home against tough opposition, with Igor Thiago being a standout performer so far this season.
Mbeumo and Wissa troubled so many defences because Brentford were so quick to go direct and over the top, allowing them to chase or break quickly in transition when an opponent had committed men up the pitch.
This Igor Thiago scout report analyses how Thiago is helping to fill the void left by Mbeumo and Wissa.
Igor Thiago Latching Onto Long Balls
Think of the amount of times Mbeumo and Wissa got on the end of long balls in Brentfords attacks.
The key was not to lose that, but also bring a player in who could strikingly have some of the best attributes that the two former strikers have.
This isnt to say that Thiago does what both of them do best, but taking a look at his goals vs Manchester United, the Brazilian has Mbeumos confident ball-striking and ability to take the ball down and Wissas intelligent movement.
One of the defining goals of the campaign for Brentford so far this season was Thiagos fabulous arrowed strike into the top corner vs Manchester United.
Of course, when a goal is scored against Manchester United, it is replayed time and again, but Thiagos positioning, awareness, and movement were just as good as the finish.
As the ball went long, Thiago had the nous to time his run perfectly, even with Harry Maguire stepping out.
Instead of stopping with the ball to check if he was offside, Thiago carried on before lashing the ball into the top corner.
Its so impressive because, when you look at how far away from goal he is, its not an easy finish.
There was a lot to do from that position, but he put it in a place where the keeper could not reach it.
Igor Thiago FinishIt felt like a typical Brentford goal in the Thomas Frank era.
The opponent commits men up the pitch, but Brentfords defence wastes no time getting the ball directly to the striker in transition.
It couldve been one of The Bees former strikers at the end of it, and you wouldnt know the difference.
The goals against United were so important because when a coach like Andrews is new and has
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