Premier League Preview: Brentford

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Hooligan Soccer

·16 août 2025

Premier League Preview: Brentford

Last year’s finish: 10th
First match: Sunday, August 17 9:00am ET @ Nottingham Forest
Where they’ll be after five: 2 pts. with 0W, 2D, 3L

Transfer News

Brentford was like a 10th century medieval monastery, a ripe target for marauding vikings keen on plunder. That’s a touch dramatic, but not necessarily untrue. First, Tottenham Hotspur made manager Thomas Frank an offer he couldn’t refuse. He left, and took three of his technical staff with him (a fourth departed on their own). Second, Bryan Mbuemo departed for Manchester United, though the club extracted as much cash (over $96M) from the deal as they could. Third, team captain Christian Nørgaard left for Arsenal. Other blows include farewells from goalkeeper Mark Flekken and a continuing debate over the future of Yoanne Wissa, who is reputedly unhappy and seeking a transfer to Newcastle United.

There is some upside. Irish keeper and perennial #2 at Liverpool Caoimhín Kelleher came on board. The club also invested in some young talent on the cheap: Dutch midfielder Antoni Milambo and Italian defender Michael Kayode. Former Liverpool icon Jordan Henderson also returned to the Premier League after uneventful stints in Saudi Arabia and the Eredivisie.

Vidéos OneFootball

But it won’t feel the same.

Season Outlook

One cannot avoid a pervading sense of dread and pessimism entering this season. Mbuemo and Nørgaard accounted for 37% of the Bees’ goals. Add Wissa into that and it jumps to 65%.

Obviously, it’s imperative to keep the Congolese striker happy and wearing red and white stripes. Put on top of all the chaos, tumult and uncertainty of the summer a very limited pre-season, and you’ve got a recipe for, well… I don’t know.

Of all the sides coming into this PL campaign, this is the most mysterious. And not in a good way. Brentford are a strong contender for relegation, and this opening five game stint will be crucial to set the tone.

Key Players

Forward Yoana Wissa’s 19g/4a in league last season will be sorely needed again. Kevin Schade is technically classified as a midfielder, but he’s really a left-side winger. If Wissa leaves, he’s the only offense they have left. He had 11g last season, three fewer than everyone else combined. A big unknown is Brazilian Igor Thiago. He spent nearly the entire season out injured, so his return could be an offensive spark.
Midfield Fábio Carvalho scored twice in under 500 minutes played. They’ll need that kind of effectiveness (and more) from his this season. Mikkel Damsgaard is a steady midfield presence the team needs. Jordan Henderson is not spring chicken, but hopefully his savvy, experience and resolve can rub off on the team and inspire them.
Defense Nobody played more games than defender Nathan Collins and left-back Keane Lewis-Potter. They each scored two goals as well. Ethan Pinnock and Sepp van de Berg round up the usual back-line for Brentford, along with late-season transfer Michael Kayode.
Goalkeeper “[The] time was right to be a #1” said Kelleher. Brentford will hope his performances are as good as they were during the moments he was called upon for Liverpool, but on paper he’s a fine replacement for the outgoing Flekken.

Other Bits

Players come and go; so do managers. But few epitomized a club like Thomas Frank. He brought the team up from the Championship, and delivered four seasons of top-flight soccer. I’ve got no beef with new gaffer Keith Andrews, and respect promoting from within the ranks, but I cannot think of a more intense and terrifying position for a first-time manager. At least we know the set-pieces should be solid (his last position was a set-piece coach).