It’s no surprise that Erling Haaland leads the Premier League scoring list.
The Norwegian, who has scored 14 goals so far, has not scored fewer than 22 league goals in any of his three seasons and is just one goal away from joining ‘The 100 Club’. He’s really in a league of his own.
However, second only to Haaland is Brentford’s Igor Thiago, who has scored 11 goals in 13 games.
His first goal in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Burnley meant he took the club record from Ivan Toney and became the fastest player to reach double figures in the Premier League. I was 15 years old, but now I’m 13.
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Highlights of the Premier League match between Brentford and Burnley.
The Brazilian, who is under contract until the summer of 2029, will be looking to make up for lost time after missing 30 Premier League games through injury in his first season in West London in 2024-25.
Recent reports have linked the 24-year-old with Aston Villa, Newcastle and Tottenham, and it’s easy to see why.
Here, ahead of the Bees’ trip to Arsenal on Wednesday night, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event, we take a look back at Thiago’s time at Brentford so far, from his initial battle with injury to now that he is already closing in on a Premier League record.
Wednesday, December 3rd 6:30pm
7:30pm kickoff
The beginning of a setback in West London
On Valentine’s Day 2024, Brentford announced the signing of Igor Thiago from Club Brugge for £30 million. He remained in Belgium for the remainder of the 2023/24 season, which was seen as a key indicator that Ivan Toney’s time as a Brentford player was coming to an end.
This should have softened the blow, but by the time Toney departed for Saudi Arabia on August 30, just over six months later, Thiago was actually set to be sidelined until near the end of the year, having injured his meniscus during a 5-2 pre-season win over AFC Wimbledon, making his first appearance for the Bees.
Thiago missed 30 Premier League games due to injury in his first season in England
As a result, he missed the first 11 Premier League matches, but returned for his debut in a 0–0 draw with Everton on 23 November and appeared in the next three matches. However, he developed a joint infection and was soon back on the treatment table.
“The risk of getting a joint infection is very small, but in the case of a Brentford player it seems to be the other way around. It’s not a 2 per cent chance, it’s a 98 per cent chance,” Frank said.
“But things will get better. Everything will be in order. We will be lucky.”
Wissa, Mbeumo leaving meant he was the main man
Thiago returned for a cameo appearance in each of the final four games of the 2024/25 season, but this would be the last time he was a fringe player in west London.
Yoan Wissa and Brian Mbeumo scored 40 goals in all competitions, and with Brentford missing out on European qualification by nine points, it was inevitable that the pair would go on to new paths.
Brian Mbeumo’s summer move to Manchester United helps Thiago’s cause
In the end, Wissa went to Newcastle for £55m and Mbeumo left for £71m.
And the benefit from Brentford’s point of view was that they didn’t have to reinvest some of that into a new number nine. Thiago was back to full fitness and ready to compete.
He scored his first goal of the Keith Andrews era in a pre-season friendly against Gil Vicente.
A start that even Andrews didn’t expect.
It would be no exaggeration to say that Thiago has moved into the Premier League like a duck to water this season.
His chant (his name is replaced by the word “gold” from Spandau Ballet’s 1983 hit song of the same name) echoes week after week at G-Tech Community Stadium, especially lately, considering he has scored seven goals in the last five home games.
He thrives on it. “Ever since I joined Brentford, the fans have been with me, supporting me and singing my name. It means so much to me to feel the love from them and perform for them,” he said after scoring twice against Man United on September 27.
Five of his goals have come from the spot, and no player in the league has more. Only Haaland (14) and Brighton’s Danny Welbeck (seven) have scored more non-penalty goals than his six. He beat his xG by 2.46.
Thiago’s last two games were the aforementioned win against Burnley. In the post-match press conference, Andrews was asked if he expected his striker to have such an impact.
“Probably not, to be honest,” he said. “It’s not normal for a player from Bulgarian or Belgian football to be out for more or less a year with an injury and then make an impact in the Premier League like he did.
“When I say I expected this, I’m probably talking about Porky Pie.
“We knew he was going to make a serious impact in the league because of his physical attributes and the type of player he is, but his goal return and overall performance level was really, really impressive.”
Andrews said Brazil had contacted him about Thiago earlier in the week and it seems only a matter of time before he earns his first call-up to Carlo Ancelotti’s squad.
Step up from spot to mark
Being a skilled penalty taker is almost a prerequisite for a forward to be Brentford’s mainstay.
Since the inaugural Premier League season in 2021-22, they have won 30 awards, but have only missed out on four of them.
Toney had 12 points and 11 points, Mbeumo had 11 points and 10 points, and Kevin Shade had one point but missed.
Thiago now has six and, like his predecessors, only made one mistake. That was a 2-1 away defeat to Brighton in November. “Thiago has been invaluable for us this season so I don’t fault him,” Andrews said.
See below how his penalty placement compares to previous penalties.
Premier League record already in sight
Of course, Thiago has a long way to go before he approaches being the top Brazilian goalscorer in Premier League history. Of course, Roberto Firmino holds the record firmly in his hands, having scored 82 goals during his time at Liverpool.
But there’s another record he’s chasing, and it looks increasingly likely he’ll achieve it before the season ends.
The current record for most goals scored by a Brazilian player in a single season in the Premier League is shared by three players. Firmino achieved it in 2017-18, Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli achieved it in 2022-23 and Matheus Cunha achieved it with Wolves last season before joining Man United in the summer.
Thiago only needs four more to match and five more to beat. With a current goals-per-game rate of 0.85, it doesn’t seem like it will be long before he leaves his mark on history.
Watch Arsenal vs Brentford live on Sky Sports Main Event from 6.30pm on Wednesday 3rd December. Kickoff 7:30pm.
