Thiago’s rise from bricklayer to Brentford’s new goal hero

What will the goals of Brentford be?

Many of their fans have reportedly asked the question themselves, which they have heard repeatedly over the past few years.

The Bees have created a response even before it was actually raised as a legitimate concern.

Bryan Mbeumo was prepared to step up until he returned in May 2023 after being given an eight-month ban for breaking Football Association betting rules.

Toney left Al-Ahli last summer, but Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa once more significantly increased the west London club’s threat with goalscoring opportunities.

However, that duo left this summer, and the ominous concerns resurfaced. However, Brentford appear to have it covered once more.

Igor Thiago, move on.

The Brazilian, 24, has already had a strong campaign going with a double against Manchester United on Saturday, which increased his Premier League total to four in six games and added another in the Carabao Cup.

After Alexis Sanchez did so for Arsenal in 2015, Thiago became the second player to score twice in the first 20 minutes of a Premier League game with two of his early goals at the Gtech.

Former Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole described Igor Thiago as “like a throwback center-forward.”

You could be forgiven for thinking this was a new arrival making an immediate impact given how little we saw of Thiago last season.

His departure from Club Brugge in July 2024 was regarded as a true coup for Brentford to replace the retiring Toney for a then-club-record £30m fee.

However, Thiago suffered a meniscus injury in his first pre-season game before the England striker even left, which kept him sidelined until November.

He didn’t score in eight games as a result of a knee infection that ended his first season at Brentford. He then had to spend another lengthy time watching from the sidelines.

However, Thiago is now making up for lost time, who scored 29 goals in his only season in Belgium.

Keith Andrews, the manager for Brentford, told TNT Sports, “I watched Igor]at] close quarters last year and the struggles he had.

The worst part of being a professional football player is getting hurt and unable to do what you love to do. Behind the scenes, Igor and Igor forged a good partnership.

“I have always been aware of his character and desire for football,” he said. His ability to make a little patience work in introducing rhythm to his game was never going to be in doubt, even though he occasionally wants it too much too soon and needs to be a little patient with getting rhythm into it.

However, Thiago hasn’t forgotten how to overcome hardship.

My father passed away when I was 13 years old, the frontman told Brentford’s official website last summer.

“I started working at the fair carrying fruit. Additionally, I was a bricklayer. Before I started playing football professionally and having the opportunity to play abroad, I worked a number of jobs when I was younger.

It both helped me as a man and as a person, according to the quote. Because looking at my life today, I can see how fortunate I am with everything I have, it helped me to appreciate both the little and the big things in life.

A professional football career was never something Thiago wanted to do because he put so much effort into supporting his mother for a while.

However, he left Vere FC to pursue a career with Cruzeiro before joining the Bulgarian side Ludogorets in Europe.

The way I play was undoubtedly impacted by my early life. I had a lot of focus on the things I wanted to do, Thiago recently stated on Brentford’s official match program.

His 15 goals helped Ludogorets retain their Bulgarian title in 2022-23 and earned him the Conference League Young Player of the Year award for Club Brugge’s seven goals in reaching the semi-finals of the competition.

After a torn first year in England, Thiago, who is eligible to play for either Brazil or Bulgaria at international level, is now displaying signs that he might be recovering from his best years.

He hardly played last season because of injury, but he scored two goals in that half, which is what a striker will be judged for.

He appears to be able to fill the void left by Wissa and Mbeumo.