Few clubs in the Premier League are having a better run than Brentford FC.
Ever since they gained promotion to the top flight back in 2021, they have built a reputation as a side with ambition but who also know their financial and performance capability.
For that reason, even though they have flirted with relegation a couple of times in the four years since, they have never really looked in danger of dropping back to the Championship.
One of the things that they have been consistently praised for is Brentford’s recruitment.
They have a knack for finding lesser-known players who have the potential to become hidden gems.
One player who certainly fits that bill at the moment is Germany forward Kevin Schade, who initially signed on loan from Freiburg in January 2023 before making his switch permanent that summer.
Capable of operating across the front line, he has proven to be the perfect accompaniment to the prolific duo of Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa.
He has been instrumental in Brentford having an outside chance of competing in Europe next season.
Yet, despite those contributions, Schade has never seemed to get the same recognition as his attacking colleagues, with it often the case that he will go under the radar whilst they will be given rave reviews.
This tactical analysis will seek to correct that, providing insight into what Kevin Schade style of play brings to the table and why he has been such a vital player for Brentford this season.
The football scouting report will also highlight where he can improve his game in the future as he continues to strive to match his potential.
Kevin Schade Attacking Threat
While he has become more of a utility player at Brentford, he initially joined the club to provide an alternative option to Ivan Toney.
As a result, goalscoring was always going to be something he would need to contribute to in their play.
The fact that he has netted 13 goals to date this season (after scoring two last time out and none in his half-season loan during the previous campaign) shows that this has been the time when that side of his game has really flourished.
One reason for his ability to be so productive in front of goal is the quality of his movement.
He consistently shows strong timing to ensure that he makes runs at the right time and into areas where he is difficult to close down.
The recent visit of Manchester United to the Gtech Community Stadium was one game in which this was apparent, with Schade constantly accessing spaces between the Red Devils backline.
In this case, he has positioned himself between Amad Diallo and Tyler Fredricson, and there is no doubt that they have helped him through the former not tucking in closely enough and the latter turning his back on the German.
However, this alone will not lead to a goal, with Schade still having to time his run correctly in order to meet the cross from Mbeumo at the optimal moment.
This he does, and it ensures that he successfully puts the ball beyond goalkeeper Altay Bayındır here for Brentford’s third goal of the day.
This was his second goal in the match, and both came in similar circumstances, indicating just how much of a threat he poses when he is allowed to move into such spaces.
Ruben Amorim’s side undoubtedly contributed to his positive day in front of goal, but nothing should be taken away from Schade’s ability to time his runs in these situations.
It is certainly one key factor in his strong performance as a focal point in Brentford’s attack this season.
However, it is crucial to note that Schade is not only capable of making forward runs; he has also demonstrated an ability to backtrack when needed.
This, too, has made him a dangerous player to leave unguarded inside the opposing penalty area.
He is able to identify situations where the ball could go loose and adjust his positioning to keep attacks alive.
The visit of Ipswich Town provided evidence of this, with the ball on the far side of the goal area here and Schade once again free on the near side.
Ipswich have not paid him any attention here.
Instead, Luke Woolfenden, Dara O’Shea, and Kalvin Phillips are focusing on the central runs made by Fábio Carvalho and Wissa.
As a result, the former Freiburg player has the freedom of west London to circle back behind them and to provide a secondary offensive threat, which results in him receiving the cutback and getting a shot away at goal.
Whilst he might not have found the net on this occasion, with Phillips recovering well and blocking the effort on goal, Schade’s intent and threat are once again there for all to see.
As mentioned, he is currently enjoying his most productive season in a Brentford shirt.
His tally, which puts him just six behind Mbeumo and Wissa (who have netted 18 goals apiece), highlights again how he has been just as much of a threat for opposing defensive lines to face.
However, this does not mean that Schade is only a threat inside the goal area.
It has also been common to see him dropping back to get on the ball in deeper positions before then turning to take it back up the field.
However, this does not always mean that his sole focus is on dribbling the ball towards the spaces ahead of him.
Instead, his awareness has once again been clear when he has found himself further away from the goal.
In this case, he knows that there is a sizeable gap in the Crystal Palace defensive line, but is also aware that the home team’s attention is on him now.
As a result, it would be difficult for him to reach that space before being dispossessed, which would prematurely end the opportunity.
With that in mind, he turns his attention towards combining with a teammate to attempt to lose that attention, and it is for that reason, he sends the ball towards Mikkel Damsgaard on the nearside wing.
Once the ball has arrived at the Denmark midfielder’s feet, both left-wing-back Tyrick Mitchell and midfielder Jefferson Lerma follow it, leaving Schade free to complete his move back into the middle of the back line.
At that stage, he can once again use his timing to meet the ball first when Damsgaard sends it back towards him, with neither Chris Richards nor Maxence Lacroix able to react in time to prevent the goal from coming about.
Kevin Schade Playmaking Abilities
It is likely because of that ability to drop into different areas of the pitch that Brentford head coach Thomas Frank has used Kevin Schade as a free-roaming playmaker for much of the current campaign.
As a result, whilst he has provided another offensive threat at the top of the field, his role has also included connecting the dots for his side and helping to provide opportunities for the likes of Mbeumo and Wissa ahead of him.
The most obvious demonstration of this side of his game has come in Schade’s hold-up play.
It is a noticeable feature of Brentford’s tactics to see long balls played up the field in his direction, and Schade slows the game down while he waits for others to join him.
This has been what has largely facilitated Mbeumo and Wissa being afforded the ability to drop back at times, too, with neither tending to sit on the shoulder of the opposing back line for extended periods of play.
In this case, Sepp van den Berg has sent the ball towards Schade, with Wissa in a position to make a run behind the latter and offer a way of keeping the attack alive.
The problem that could have come about here is that Bournemouth had initially set up in a solid defensive formation, so the gaps that Wissa had available to him were small, if present.
However, Schade amends this through his hold-up play, which provides time for his teammates to get back up the field and tempts opponents into closing him down.
In this case, Dean Huijsen took the bait and did just that, which allowed Wissa to move behind him into the territory that Bournemouth had left open behind them.
With Schade further destabilising Bournemouth’s defensive effort by dribbling towards the nearside wing, taking Huijsen with him and giving Wissa even more space to occupy, it is clear just how crucial this part of his game has been to Brentford’s ability to keep testing their opponents.
However, not all of Schade’s work to create opportunities has been so obvious.
His playmaking also possesses a note of subtlety.
In this case, he has once again positioned himself inside the Crystal Palace goal area and is waiting for the ball to be sent his way.
Vitaly Janelt and Nathan Collins combine on the nearside to find those inside them.
Unlike in the previous example from this match, Schade does not intend to finish the chance himself.
Instead, he wants to deflect the ball into the path of a teammate behind him, knowing that doing so will make it significantly harder for the home team to keep the ball out here.
For that reason, when Collins sends the ball in his direction, he simply flicks his head at it and alters the angle at which it travels.
By doing so, he ensures that the ball diverts into the space between the Crystal Palace backline and goalkeeper Dean Henderson and is put on a plate for Mbeumo to get his own head to.
On this occasion, it doesn’t result in a goal, as the Cameroon forward’s timing is not quite as well-matched as Schade’s.
However, Schade’s 25 shot assists this season highlight that this is not a one-off.
He has been integral to Brentford’s creation of opportunities and finishing them off.
Schade’s natural pace has been discussed extensively.
When moving at top speed, he is regarded as one of the quickest players in the Premier League.
This, too, has aided Brentford, and not only when they have the ball.
Instead, it has allowed them to implement a press whenever they have been out of possession, with their intention of regaining control of the game as high up the pitch as possible.
This has proven especially beneficial against those teams who seek to build from the back, with Tottenham Hotspur coming under that bracket.
In this case, the ball has fallen at the feet of Micky van de Ven, and the Netherlands defender is now looking to send the ball back up the field in a progressive manner.
However, Schade recognises this and is in a position to prevent it from happening.
He moves towards Van de Ven and attempts to prohibit his ability to find a teammate ahead of him.
Notably, he had initially moved ahead of van de Ven here before circling back behind him and in his blind spot, which meant that the former Wolfsburg player didn’t seem aware of his presence until it was too late.
For that reason, Schade succeeded in blocking the pass here, and Brentford were able to regain possession in a favourable area of the field.
With this not being the only time that his defensive traits have been on show (Schade has averaged 2.06 interceptions per game this season and has won 63.9% of his defensive duels), this is yet another reason that Brentford have profited from having him in the side.
It is perhaps unsurprising that he has been linked with Borussia Dortmund in the past, considering how much he contributes in-game.
Kevin Schade Areas To Improve
That being said, though, it would be wrong to assume that Kevin Schade is as good as he is ever going to get.
Instead, there is still plenty that he can work on as his game continues to develop and his stock grows, and addressing those areas of his game that are not currently as strong will be vital if he is to secure a big move in the future.
The first thing on that list needs to be his control of the ball.
There are plenty of times when he has demonstrated an ability to win the ball and to find teammates (68.2% of his passes have found their intended targets), but there are also plenty of moments when he has not.
Whilst it should be pointed out that a high proportion of those have come when Schade has found himself under pressure and at a numerical disadvantage, there have been situations in which he has had more time, and so could have done better.
This was one of those, with Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo sending a long cross-field pass towards Diallo and Schade moving to intercept the ball before the Ivory Coast international could meet it.
The speed of the pass meant that it was not a difficult ball for Schade to control once he was in the right area to make the interception.
The fact that Keane Lewis-Potter had provided a passing option behind him meant that all Schade had to do here was to either control the ball and then send it towards his teammate or to simply nudge it into his path with his first touch.
However, he ended up combining controlling and passing simultaneously, and the result was that the ball went loose under little pressure before being won back by Diallo.
Whilst it did mean that Schade was once again forced to go on the defensive, this was certainly one situation in which he made the right move but was then let down by his touch.
If he is to reach the next level of his game, this undoubtedly needs to be fixed.
Another aspect of his play that has failed him at times is his poor crossing accuracy.
Just 26.1% of his 46 attempted crosses this season found their intended targets.
This is not due to him struggling to get into promising positions, with him averaging 3.92 touches inside the penalty area per game this season.
Still, once again, it is down to a lack of finesse when he has been looking to pick out a teammate inside him.
This was a perfect demonstration of that problem, with him getting the better of Chelsea’s Malo Gusto in a 1-v-1 duel on the far side of the field (something he did a lot during the two London sides’ clash at the Gtech Community Stadium).
As a result, he is now looking to send the ball into the middle and has both Mbeumo or Wissa as potential options to aim for.
Schade had a narrow corridor to send the ball through, but that did not prove to be an issue here.
Instead, the speed of the cross led to the attack breaking down, with Schade seemingly overhitting it and not giving Mbeumo much of a chance to turn it beyond Robert Sánchez in the Chelsea goal.
Given that this game ended goalless, there is no doubt that Schade needs to work on these moments if Brentford are to turn their outside chance of a European place next season into a stronger challenge in the future.
Moments like these have cost them vital points in some matches.
They also highlight why Schade can play as a winger but currently lacks some of the qualities needed to be a complete success in that role.
Kevin Schade Statistics At Brentford 2024/2025
This issue becomes even more apparent when Schade’s percentile statistics for the season are broken down.
As can be seen, he ranks above average in the bands when compared to all other Tier 1 players in his role for goal contributions and expected goal contributions per game, as well as for shots and dribbles.
At the same time, he wins plenty of defensive and aerial duels, so his overall attacking threat and defensive ability cannot be questioned.
However, his passing ability has not been as good, with the graphic indicating that he sits very low in the bands for all aspects of this.
Therefore, whilst he gets into the right areas and shows a willingness to work with those around him, his quality on the ball certainly leaves a lot to be desired.
This will need to be improved if he continues to act as a playmaker in Brentford’s attack.
The likes of Mbeumo and Wissa (should they stay beyond the summer) rely on him to constantly feed the ball into their path and provide a focal point inside the final third that they can play off.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this tactical analysis has examined the role that Kevin Schade plays in Brentford’s tactics more closely, highlighting what he offers both in forward areas and when dropping into deeper areas of the field and where he can continue to work on his game as time goes on.
The scout report has sought to illuminate just how influential the German forward has been to Brentford’s play this season.
There is no doubt that he deserves as much credit as both Mbeumo and Wissa when considering why Frank’s side have once again enjoyed a positive Premier League campaign.
With Toney leaving for Saudi Arabia last summer and Igor Thiago spending much of the campaign on the sidelines, some fans may have wondered if Brentford would have enough quality in their forward line to replace what had been lost.
Despite the flaws indicated in the scout report, there is no doubt that Schade has been a solid option for them to have available, and he is yet another example of why Brentford’s recruitment is among the best in world football.
