For the entire summer, although Brentford were heavily involved in two of the biggest deals, losing 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 league’s gold standard, the big teams weren’t 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 number of times Mbeumo and Wissa got on the end of long balls in Brentford’s attacks.
The key was not to lose that, but also to bring in a player who could possess some of the best attributes that the two former strikers have.
This isn’t to say that Thiago does what both of them do best, but taking a look at his goals vs Manchester United, the Brazilian has Mbeumo’s confident ball-striking and ability to take the ball down, and Wissa’s intelligent movement.
One of the defining goals of the campaign for Brentford so far this season was Thiago’s 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 Thiago’s 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.
It’s so impressive because, when you look at how far away from goal he is, it’s 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.
It felt like a typical Brentford goal in the Thomas Frank era.
The opponent commits men up the pitch, but Brentford’s defence wastes no time getting the ball directly to the striker in transition.
It could’ve been one of The Bees’ former strikers at the end of it, and you wouldn’t know the difference.
The goals against United were so important because when a coach like Andrews is new and has so many key parts of the machine ripped out, it would’ve given everyone on the team a huge boost: ‘We can still do what we used to and be good at it; we can still score goals with him up front.’
Scoring against United symbolised that Thiago is ready to take up the mantle.
If the first goal was reminiscent of Mbeumo’s brilliant finishing, the second is eerily similar to how Wissa would take up positions and also displayed his skill in taking down a long ball.
Three big Red Devils defenders are trying to compete and get the ball off Igor Thiago, yet he manages to bring it down on his chest and release a Brentford winger wide.
Igor Thiago Areas Of Improvement
One of the key traits of some of the best strikers in the league is their ability to link up and then get in the box thereafter.
This is exactly what Thiago does in the example above.
It’s wonderful for a striker to be good in link-up play, hold-up, and chance creating, but if you look at the world’s best? The Harry Kane, Erling Haaland, and Mo Salah of the world drop deep to link up and make sure they are in the right areas to score.
Even if Thiago isn’t one of the best at this yet, it’s brilliant for Brentford that he’s taking the initiative to trap the ball, lay it off to a teammate and get into the six-yard area.
As Altay Bayındır palms the cross out, Thiago is waiting to slot it home.
This is a good example of Thiago getting into the right spots to be a goal-poacher, as at the moment, this is one area of his game that I don’t think he does frequently enough.
When he drops to link up play or hold onto the ball, it helps Brentford forge attacks, but he can be slow to get into the box.
He’s filling the Mbeumo-Wissa void well, but he needs to realise that he is Brentford’s best chance at scoring a goal.
When he doesn’t have the ball, Kevin Schade receives and attempts to cross or take on defenders.
This should be the cue for Thiago to venture into the box.
However, this will improve over time as the relationship between Thiago-Schade continues to develop.
The key also lies in providing them with more support, as sometimes it feels like the pairing is isolated against an entire defense.
The talk isn’t about what Brentford lack in goals, but rather how many they are conceding.
Igor Thiago Link-Up Ability
As referenced earlier, due to the goals and presence Thiago has brought to this team at this early stage, he’s the central figure that Brentford looks to play the ball to.
However, the picture below highlights that other teams are aware of this.
As he receives the ball on the edge of the penalty area, four Fulham defenders surround him.
He manages to come out with the ball anyway and play it back off to Christian Nørgaard, but as you can see, options after that are scant.
It will help if the Bees have players and perhaps full-backs who stretch Fulham’s defence wide.
Even though Schade is making the right run, if he were a yard or two wider, it would open more gaps in Fulham’s defence.
What is also notable here is the limited number of men Brentford is sending forward, and they are 3-1 down.
It’s perfectly fine to go long to the striker, but if he has no support, there is not much he can do, even if he is able to link up and be the forefront of Bournemouth‘s attacks.
His link-up ability is such that it allows him to shrug defenders off with enough close control and skill to get the ball through in tight areas.
The matches and defences Thiago has faced so far are a good introduction to the Premier League: Chelsea, Manchester City, Aston Villa, etc.
Think of some of the centre-backs he has already battled: Matthijs de Ligt, Rúben Dias, Joško Gvardiol, and Trevor Chalobah.
These are tough, physical match-ups.
Thiago has had long ball after long ball played up to him.
The Brazilian knows that he will have to keep doing this in every match, and it’s a nuisance for defenders.
Take this run above Chelsea, for instance.
He starts where the referee is in the picture, surrounded by four or five Blues defenders.
He uses his strength and skill to outmuscle and outrun them.
In one action, he physically moves a defender out of the way before getting into a crossing position.
It’s making something out of nothing and consistently doing it over the season.
Victor Osimhen is the next example of a player who excelled over one season in Napoli‘s Scudetto-clinching campaign.
When teams sat deep, Napoli would hoof the ball to him; he would chase it and conjure something up from nothing, as if it were his job to do so.
Like the strikers before him, he will have to be busy.
He will not necessarily feed off scraps but make something out of situations where the defenders are put under pressure.
Conclusion
Igor Thiago possesses the attributes of pressing, harrying, competing awkwardly in the air, and bustling players off the ball, and he’s clearly an early success.
Brentford’s worry isn’t Igor Thiago; it’s ensuring that he has enough support to be a threat in each match.
