Brentford are in uncharted waters. For the first time in their Premier League tenure, Thomas Frank won’t be in the home dugout at the Gtech Community stadium. Add the departures of Bryan Mbeumo and Christian Nørgaard, along with Yoane Wissa’s uncertain future, should we be worried?
By Alex Roberts
After seven years at the helm, a ‘big’ club finally listened to all those pundits and took a chance on Frank. He’s the man tasked with leading Tottenham into their brave new era following their Europa League win under Ange Postecoglou.
Frank’s time at Brentford will be defined by their ability to punch above their weight. The Bees have consistently been the team with the lowest wage bill in the Premier League. Last season it was reported to be £44,343,000 per-year, only newly promoted Ipswich spent less (£40,768,000).
Unlike the likes of Ipswich, they’ve managed to establish themselves as mainstay in the English top-flight, with their lowest finish coming in 2023-24, ending their campaign all the way down in 16th with 39 points, 13 above now League One side Luton Town.
While many sides, and managers, refuse to deviate from their preferred philosophy, Frank is a rare bread. He’s a coach that has no problem adapting; if the game calls for his side to go long, they’ll go long, if they need to be patient against a low block, then that’s what they’ll do.
Last season, his Brentford side primarily used a 4-3-3 or a 3-5-2, depending on the opposition. The formations may change but the general ideas remain the same, have a high back line when attacking, keep the ball, counter press, create high xG chances, stick ’em in the net. Simple right?
Brentford were seventh in terms of big chances created in the Premier League last season with 109, while overperforming their xG, scoring 66 goals from the predicted 60.2. It all points to a manager who knows how to get the best out of his players.
Now that the great Dane is gone, former set-piece coach Keith Andrews is the new gaffer. For those that watched any Brentford games last season, it’s fair to say they LOVED a set-piece, from both attacking and defensive perspectives.
Andrews may not have been jumping up and down on the touchline like Arsenal’s Nicolas Jover, but he was nearly as productive. Brentford ended their 2024-25 Premier League campaign with 13 set piece goals, the fifth most in the division, while only conceding three, the least. All he needs to do now is add more nonsensical hand gestures.
Like Frank, Andrews comes in as a complete unknown quantity. This is his first managerial position, but the boffins at Brentford don’t mess about, they’ll have crunched the numbers, hacked the system, and be confident they made the right choice. Let’s not forget, Frank lost his first three games when he took over from Dean Saunders.
If it was just Frank leaving, then there wouldn’t be too much cause for concern, it’s those on the pitch that have added to the increasing anxiety. Bryan Mbeumo, the man who scored just over 30% of Brentford Premier League goals last season has left to join Man United.
A tasty £66.7 million profit on the forward, who Brentford signed from French side Troyes when they were still in the Championship will make the pill a little easier to swallow, but he’s going to be a huge miss.
Questions remain whether he will be able to keep up his form in front of goal, like Brentford, Mbeumo overperformed his xG quite considerably, bagging 20 Premier League goals from a predicted 12.26, but that’s not all he’s about.
Not only did he score goals, Mbeumo’s work rate off the ball made him an absolute menace. He never gave the opposition a moment’s rest, winning 31 tackles, 179 duels, and making 156 recoveries. He also won the ball back in the final third 32 times.
As of writing this piece, Brentford haven’t signed a like-for-like replacement for Mbeumo. Antoni Milambo, who has joined from Feyenoord, is capable of playing as a right-winger, but he’s more of a midfielder. It’s hard to see where those types of numbers are going to come from looking at their current options.
Christian Nørgaard’s move to Arsenal seemed to catch everyone off guard, although maybe it shouldn’t have. Mikel Arteta appears to be a fan of a 30-something defensive midfielder who can come on and shut the game down.
Considering his position, Nørgaard’s numbers in front of goal last season were pretty impressive. He ended the season with six goals and four assists, the most productive of his career so far.
Obviously, it’s at the other end of the pitch where he’s expected to make a real difference, and he did. Nørgaard won 62% of his tackles, 61.9% of his aerial duels, and made 49 interceptions throughout his 34 Premier League games.
Beyond the more tangible stuff, Nørgaard was a real leader at Brentford. He was made captain back in 2023 when Pontus Jansson left for Malmö leading the team 65 times in the Premier League and 68 times in all competitions.
Unlike the Mbeumo situation, Brentford have brought in a replacement for Nørgaard. Former Liverpool and Ajax captain Jordan Henderson has returned to England. He will absolutely make up for the void left by the Danish star off the pitch, but it remains to be seen whether he still has the legs for the Premier League.
On the bright side for Brentford fans, Yoane Wissa is still at the club… for now. Reports suggesting he would go on strike to force a move away appear to have been wrong after the club shared images of him back in training with his teammates.
He was the other member of arguably the best attacking duo in the league last season, scoring just one goal less than Mbeumo (19). Newcastle are getting pretty desperate though, and the transfer window remains wide open.
As the new season approaches, it’s hard to predict what’s going to happen with Brentford. What was once the most stable environment in the league is starting to show some cracks. We’re not saying it’s a full on crisis, but it’s worth keeping an eye on.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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