The theme of succession planning has loomed large over the Premier League in recent seasons. There are the good: Liverpool, who have seamlessly transitioned from Jurgen Klopp to Arne Slot, perhaps even improving in the process.
Then there are the calamitous: Manchester United, who are still picking over the wreckage left from the implosion suffered when Sir Alex Ferguson left Old Trafford in 2013.
The post-Pep Guardiola era at Manchester City is sure to be enthralling instalment of Premier League history but another club undoubtedly getting it right are Brentford.
but, a closer look at the Bees’ method points to something far more impressive.
On Saturday, Yoane Wissa equalled Ivan Toney‘s record of 36 goals to become the club’s joint-top scorer in their short Premier League history. Bryan Mbuemo is just one behind him. Losing Toney has not jolted Brentford just as the loss of Ollie Watkins before him didn’t derail their progress either.
It is testament to the recruitment of technical director Lee Dykes and to the coaching of Thomas Frank. Mbuemo cost just £5.8 million in 2019 – chicken feed in today’s Premier League market, Wissa, just £8.5 million in 2021.
Plenty of other clubs have spent far more to yield much less. Southampton, for example, had Kamaldeen Sulemana and Paul Onuachu leading the line against Brentford and paid £22 million for the former and £18 million for the latter. Sulemana has scored just twice in the Premier League for the Saints, Onuachu, not at all.
Frank explained: ‘To be a sustainable team in the Premier League year in, year out, there’s a lot of things you need to do and a lot of boxes you need to tick. One of them is you need to have enough goals in your team.
