In 2022/23, Brentford built upon an excellent debut campaign in the Premier League by navigating the so-called ‘tricky second season' with ease, taking themselves to the brink of European football and only missing out by two points on a continental adventure next year, when the dust settled at the end of the 38 games.
What that undoubtedly represents though, is further progress from the club, moving up four places from their 2021/22 finish and putting themselves in a great position to kick on again next year. Much and more has been made of their recruitment model, but it remains to be seen whether this summer will represent a slight deviation from the norm, with a higher profile of player calibre targeted to try and push on again at the G-Tech next time out.
There’s a buzz in the air around TW8 this summer, with early business being swift and sure. We will update you as the deals are made and what's in process. The confirmed transfer ins and outs at Brentford are as follows.
Brentford signings: Summer 2023 arrivals
Nathan Collins
A third successive summer Premier League transfer for Nathan Collins has seen him break his own record as the most expensive Irish footballer in history. Just a year after moving from Burnley to Wolverhampton Wanderers for a reported £20.5 million, he has now swapped the West Midlands for West London in a deal worth £23 million.
Breaking the Bees' former transfer record, Collins has been handed a six-year contract, showing the club's faith in a player who at just 22 years old, has his best football in front of him.
An accomplished all-round defender, the Irishman is comfortable playing out from the back from both a passing and ball-carrying standpoint, as well as being a composed head on young shoulders in his defensive capabilities.
Thomas Frank has already been effusive in his praise of his new defender, singling out his aerial ability in both boxes as a huge factor in why the club tried to sign him, and there's also the little extra nugget that Collins will be joining up with his former Burnley teammate Ben Mee, who has been amongst Brentford's best players after making the jump from Lancashire last summer.
Hailing from a family of footballers, Collins' grandfather, father and brother all played to a high level, as well as two of his uncles and a cousin. He's currently the reigning FAI Men's Senior Player of the Year for his country, and scored his first international goal earlier this year with a mazy run and finish that belied both his forward-thinking nature and his ability on the ball.
Mark Flekken
With current goalkeeper David Raya having just a year left on his contract, and subject to interest from a host of elite clubs, Brentford have wasted no time in securing a capable replacement should the Spaniard decide to leave the club this summer.
Flekken has been signed from Freiburg for £11 million, and in him Brentford's recruitment team have picked up a player who has been one of the standout goalkeepers in the Bundesliga for the past couple of seasons, as Freiburg have defied expectations to reach a DFB-Pokal final and two consecutive European finishes in the German top flight.
Standing at 6 foot 5 inches, the Dutchman is a large presence between the sticks, but he combines this with excellent ball-playing ability, which has been a crucial factor in Raya's brilliance in Brentford's goal.
He's also an excellent shot stopper, ranking in the top five of all Bundesliga goalkeepers for both save percentage and for expected goals prevented in the last two campaigns; as well as keeping the most clean sheets in the league in the season that's just finished.
Brentford are expected to stand firm on the figure that they want if Raya is to move on in this transfer window, but Bees fans can rest assured that if their current Number One does depart for pastures new, there is a more than capable deputy ready to take up his gloves.
Kevin Schade
Schade was actually signed on loan in January with an obligation for Brentford to make the deal permanent in the summer, so this isn't really a new face, but the Bees have happily activated that clause to bring the German to the G-Tech on a five-year-deal.
Still just 21 years old, Schade made 18 Premier League appearances since joining in the January window, with his role becoming more prominent as the season went on. Whilst he didn't feature from the beginning of a game until March, Schade finished the campaign with seven starts and a game-clinching assist against local rivals Fulham.
Schade's move was seen as a bit of a gamble back at the start of the year, with Brentford counting on his raw potential and talent that had been seen in flashes in his brief time in the Bundesliga, but with Ivan Toney missing the first half of the season due to suspension, Thomas Frank will now be increasingly counting on the jet-heeled youngster to make a difference more regularly in the next campaign.
Ji-soo Kim
Not one for the here and now, but one worth keeping an eye on. Brentford picked up Korean youngster Ji-soo Kim almost under the radar in this window for a fee of around £550k. He's set to join Brentford's B Team setup initially, becoming teammates with one Romeo Beckham to boot, but there's definitely something in Kim that has got Brentford purring.
A standout at the recent U20 World Cup, where his South Korea side finished in fourth place, Kim looked incredibly composed at the heart of his nation's defence, and impressed many with his athleticism and ability to pick out accurate passes off both feet.
One for the future, who could well turn out once again to be a very smart bit of business from Phil Giles and his recruitment team.
Neal Maupay
Returning to the club on a season-long loan, Neal Maupay has made the switch from Everton. Brentford have the option to make the deal permanent at the end of the season. Neal Maupay had a record of 41 goals in 95 games at Brentford, though he struggled to settle at Everton last season.
With Ivan Toney out till January due to a ban, Neal Maupay has a chance to secure a spot in the starting 11.
Brentford's transfer departures
Pontus Jansson – Malmö FF
Jansson made a Championship hop across from Leeds United in the summer of 2019 and was immediately made Club Captain. The Swede had made a name for himself at Elland Road as a tough-tackling defender who those around him looked to as a leader, and he immediately became a stalwart of Brentford's push for Premier League football.
Unsuccessful at the first time of asking in the Playoffs that season, Jansson would return to Wembley Way on a much happier day for Bees fans a year later, wearing the armband and lifting the trophy as Brentford secured Premier League football for the first time in their history by beating Swansea City.
He made the step up to the Premier League the following year, being nearly ever-present in a team that many expected to struggle but who made their mark against Arsenal on the opening day and continued to defy the critics for the entire campaign.
His most recent season, where he has been racked with injury problems, has seen Jansson replaced at the heart of Brentford's backline by Ben Mee, but he still contributed with 12 appearances and a goal in 22/23.
It has been an eventful four years for Jansson at Brentford, but one that has seen the club on a firmly upward trajectory. Now 32, he will return to boyhood club Malmö, where he spent nine years at the start of his career, to try and help his hometown club back towards the Allsvenskan title after a tricky time of things last season, and to attempt to capture his fourth domestic Swedish title.
Mads Bidstrup – Midfielder – RB Salzburg
Brentford has endured a boatload of departures in recent weeks. Some of these were good for the club, whereas I’m sure that they would have liked to hold on to some players that have recently left. And on the subject of recent Brentford transfer departures, Mads Bidstrup tops the list when it comes to the fees involved. The 22-year-old central midfielder has agreed to make a move to RB Salzburg for a fee of around €6 million, which actually puts Bidstrup as the most valuable Brentford departure of the summer.
Interestingly, aside from David Raya making the move to Arsenal for a relatively small loan fee, all other departures have been completed for fees less than €1 million or for free. Adding to the ins and outs of this move, Brentford has brought in two guys from the B team in the attacking midfield positions to fill the gap.
David Raya – Goalkeeper – Arsenal
Although the fees involved with this deal were relatively small, the transfer of David Raya to Arsenal certainly attracted plenty of attention. In case you missed it, as per the official David Raya Arsenal contract, he completed a season-long loan deal with Arsenal for a loan fee of just €3.34 million. However, while this initial loan fee is pretty small for the 27-year-old goalkeeper, there is an option to buy for a fee in excess of €30 million once the loan comes to an end. This is obviously far greater than the associated loan fees, yet more interestingly, this ‘option’ could evolve into a mandatory purchase if specific contract conditions aren’t met.
In addition to the news of Raya becoming of the Brentford transfer departures, the club did move swiftly to bring in Mark Flekken as a suitable replacement. He was brought in for a transfer fee of around €13 million, as shown above.
Halil Dervisoglu – Forward – Galatasaray
It’s not uncommon for footballers to sign for clubs in their home nation when they make a change in their careers. And this is what went down with the departure of Dervisoglu. As you might be aware, Dervisoglu was a Brentford man from 2020-2023, yet his role at the club was pretty much nonexistent. He made just a handful of domestic appearances for Brentford, and he was loaned out to Galatasaray for two out of his three seasons as a Brentford player. While there, Halil Dervisoglu got significantly more pitch time, and he was much happier. As for specifics, the 23-year-old signed a four-year deal for a €500K transfer fee.
Joel Valencia – Winger – Z. Sosnowiec
Valencia is another Brentford player that has departed the club this summer. The winger has sadly experienced plenty of injury issues in recent times, and after playing just one season for Brentford, the club then started to loan him out. On that note, he played in Poland on loan during the 2020/2021 season, and that’s where he has now headed. Specifically, Valencia has signed for Z. Sosnowiec on a two-year deal with zero transfer fees involved.
Sergi Canós
Having played 249 times for Brentford and scoring 36 times, Sergi Canós has moved to La Liga side Valencia. Signing for Brentford in 2015 from Liverpool on an initial loan, Sergi Canós has gone on to be forever immortalised in the Brentford history books.
Sergi Canós spent the tail-end of last season on loan in Greece with Olympiacos, making eight appearances and scoring four goals. His season in Greece was ended early, however, as he picked up an injury.
