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€33m transfer fee
©Imago/Content stadium
Perhaps one of the most intriguing transfers of the summer transfer window is one that was concluded back in February. On July 1, Brentford were able to finally welcome new striker Igor Thiago to the club, after concluding negotiations to sign the Club Brugge star earlier in the year for a transfer fee of €33 million, plus €4m in bonuses. The deal makes Thiago the Bees’ most expensive signing ever and Brugge’s second most valuable sale ever. Which undoubtedly suggests that Thomas Frank and his side are putting a lot of faith in the young striker.
How good is Brentford signing Igor Thiago?
Thiago made the move to Club Brugge in July 2023 for a sizable sum of €11m and in his single season in the Belgian top-flight did a solid job of showing what he can do in front of goal. Over the course of the entire season the 23-year-old talent bagged no less than 29 goals and six assists in 55 games in all competitions. In the regular league campaign (i.e before the Jupiler Pro League split) Thiago picked up 16 goals and two assists in 26 games. That may not seem like a remarkable return, but it did make the Club Brugge striker the third best goalscorer in the division last season and when it came to total goals and assists bagged only five players in the Belgian top-flight could lay claim to more. However, not everything went to plan for Thiago over the course of the season.
“You have to divide his season into three sections,” notes Bart Tamsyn, Transfermarkt’s Belgium football expert, when asked about Thiago’s sole season at Club Brugge. “In the beginning it was a bit of a search both for him and his teammates on how to play with each other. He did score but, as a centre forward, when you only score twice in a 5-0, 7-1 and 4-2 win, that is actually too little. He even lost his starting place in October to mid-November. From mid-November, the pieces did eventually fall into place and he scored continuously. Then in mid-February his transfer was announced and suddenly everything turned around. He only scored three goals after that, even though Club Brugge reached the semi-finals in both the Belgian Cup and the Conference League and even went on to become national champions. Was it initially the urge to prove himself that fell away, followed by too much of an urge to prove he was worth that €33m fee? Possibly, although he wasn’t helped by three games missed through suspension and several injuries during that period either.”
What should encourage Brentford fans is the fact that Thiago seemed to take to a higher level of football with relative ease last season. Prior to his move to Club Brugge, Thiago bagged 20 goals and 11 assists in 53 games for Bulgarian side Ludogorets. Which certainly suggests that the young forward is seemingly content scoring goals wherever he goes. In fact, his goals per 90 average actually increased from 0.69 in Bulgaria to 0.78 in Belgium last year, even if he wasn’t consistent over the course of the entire season. But if he could average even half that amount for Brentford in the Premier League next season then he’d be well on his way to becoming an excellent signing for the English club.
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Could Igor Thiago replace Ivan Toney?
However, one of the biggest issues that Thiago may have to contend with in his first season at Brentford aside from simply sticking the ball in the back of the net is the prospect of replacing Ivan Toney. The England striker has been heavily linked with a move away from the club this summer and in many ways Thiago has been lined up as a ready-made replacement. So could the Brazilian star really slot straight into Toney’s spot in the team and confidently replace the club’s star striker? On paper, Thiago does seem like a very good replacement for Toney. During his time in the Belgian top-flight he averaged 0.74 goals and assists per 90 minutes of league football. That’s notably more than Toney’s average of 0.57 per 90 minutes of Premier League football. Obviously, the Brentford striker is playing in a much tougher league, but it goes to show how much Thiago’s numbers would have to drop off just to match what Toney has brought to Brentford over the course of the last four years. And, perhaps just as importantly, both players tend to play a similar style of football.
While Toney is predominantly a goalscorer for Brentford, his off-the-ball movement and ability to hold up long passes for his team mates to counter attack is also crucial to the way Frank’s side play. And, according to Tamsyn, while Thiago isn’t the type of striker to dribble by defenders or set up other players with a number of assists, he could play the role of roaming target man very well. “He is certainly more of a target man, but is also more than that,” said the Belgian football expert. “He is certainly not the player who waits in the box for the ball. You can play long balls up to him under pressure and he’s good at then knowing how to use his body well to keep up with the ball and let the rest of the team connect. Mentally he is also really good. He is competitive and will not neglect his defensive duties.”
Whether Thiago will work out as a smart Brentford signing or not remains to be seen, but there’s little doubt that one of the Premier League’s smartest operators in the transfer market have undoubtedly identified a player that knows how to score goals. And, perhaps most importantly, looks to have all the attributes needed to be a long-term replacement for Toney, should the England striker move on this summer.
