Guardian writers’ predicted position: 17th (NB: this is not necessarily Uzzi Majid’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)
Last season’s position: 16th
Prospects
After a challenging 2023-24 campaign, not being the worst Premier League team in London would help a lot for Brentford adherents, the club having been the capital’s third-best a season earlier. The seemingly never-ending Ivan Toney saga has rumbled through the summer and may have taken a huge twist. Igor Thiago, signed to be the striker’s replacement, is set to be out until the end of the year after sustaining a meniscus injury in last month’s 5-2 win over AFC Wimbledon.
It is an excruciating scenario for Brentford, potentially making it impossible for them to sell Toney, however enticing the offers may be. The 28-year-old, who has made no secret of his desire to leave, is in the final year of a contract he is reportedly willing to run down if he is unable to land a big move in this window. If Toney stays, that would – barring a significant change of heart – virtually end Brentford’s hopes of acquiring a fee for a player who cost them £10m in August 2020.
With or without Toney, Thomas Frank will want a fast start when his team welcome Crystal Palace, whom Brentford are yet to beat in the Premier League. Another home game against Southampton follows at the end of August but things could take a more volatile turn on the road with Brentford’s first four away games being at Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham and Manchester United, from late August to mid-October. It makes securing maximum points against Palace and Southampton a priority if the team are to make the Gtech a fortress again and avoid a relegation scrap.
Brentford, beaten by Spurs to the signing of Archie Gray from Leeds, still need to strengthen their squad. Survival, maybe alongside a cup run, would constitute a successful campaign.
The manager
Frank, an intriguing personality in press conferences and impressive on punditry duties during Euro 2024, heads into his sixth full season in charge. Appointed in October 2018, the 50-year-old is the fourth-longest-serving manager across the top four tiers of English football, behind Harrogate’s Simon Weaver, Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola and Coventry’s Mark Robins. Frank went through one of the most challenging spells of his Brentford reign last season and will be stronger for it. Making his side more difficult to play against will be one of his targets given how porous they were in the last campaign.
Off-field picture
The Brentford owner, Matthew Benham, this summer celebrated 12 years in charge. It emerged in February that he had valued the club at £400m and was open to selling a majority or minority stake, but talks on the ownership front have gone quiet for now. Brentford’s status as, financially, London’s smallest Premier League club was underlined by Forbes in May valuing Fulham and Crystal Palace at $790m (£619m) and $780m respectively.
Breakout star
Yehor Yarmoliuk was one of two players who made every league matchday squad last season, and the Ukrainian midfielder was one of Brentford’s bright sparks in a difficult campaign. Another prodigy who has impressed in pre-season is the South Korean defender Kim Ji-soo. Signed from Seongnam FC last year, he impressed in the B Team under Neil MacFarlane and was promoted to the first-team squad in June. After that the 19-year-old paid tribute to MacFarlane, revealing the coach spoke highly of him when he arrived in England as an 18-year-old. His goal of a Premier League debut edges tantalisingly closer.
The A-lister
Bryan Mbeumo made a strong start to last season, scoring seven goals in his first 15 league games. Then an ankle injury sustained in the last of those matches, a 2-1 defeat at Brighton in December, kept him out for 13 league fixtures and Brentford lost 10 of them. It is hardly a coincidence that after Mbeumo’s return Brentford were more cohesive in attack. The Cameroon international not only provides goals but an exceptional work rate and is a source of creativity for attacking colleagues. There were murmurs of a move to Liverpool not too long ago – not a chance now.
What they did this summer
Representation at the Euros was momentous for Brentford, with seven players, including four Danes, part of the tournament in Germany. In the goalkeeping department, Thomas Strakosha (now at AEK Athens) played in all three of Albania’s matches but Brentford’s first choice, Mark Flekken, did not get off the bench for the Netherlands. Ivan Toney contributed to the England cause. The header that led to Harry Kane’s winner against Slovakia and his nonchalant penalty against Switzerland will be personal highlights to treasure.
