The current campaign appeared to be an uphill battle for Brentford. After two terrific seasons since their promotion to the Premier League in 2021 – capped off with a top half finish last term – the Bees were rocked with the news of striker Ivan Toney’s long-term suspension. Only four players had scored more Premier League goals than Toney since the start of 2021-22 (32), while he had been directly involved in 38% of the Bees’ top-flight strikes across the last two seasons (41/106).
Yet in Toney’s absence, it is another Brentford forward grabbing the headlines in the West End. Step forward to the stage Bryan Mbeumo.
Mbeumo has scored six goals in 10 Premier League appearances this season, with only four players netting more in the competition. In fact, it is the Cameroon international’s best goalscoring start to a top-flight campaign and more strikes than he managed at this stage in both of his two previous Premier League seasons combined (four).
Mbeumo was always deployed alongside Toney in Brentford’s attack but has since become the lead protagonist in the Bees’ forward line. The 24-year-old has been directly involved in exactly half of Brentford’s goals in the Premier League this season (8/16, six goals & two assists). The Bees’ No19 has both scored and assisted in each of his last two league games, with his stoppage time strike rounding off a superb away performance at Chelsea last time out. Furthermore, no player has both scored and assisted in more Premier League matches than Mbeumo’s tally of four games since the start of last season.
The Cameroon international has become integral to Thomas Frank’s side, with his dynamism proving vital in advancing Brentford up field. The forward is equally capable of operating either centrally or out wide and utilises this to drag opposition defenders out of position – creating vast gaps in the opposition’s back line. Mbeumo is then able to exploit this with his potent turn of pace or via inch-perfect passes to a teammate. He has created more chances than any other Brentford player in the league since the start of last season (67).
The 24-year-old is well on course to beat his best return of nine Premier League goals, which he achieved last season. The forward has an xG tally (Expected Goals) of 6.34 across 2023-24 – the third highest total in the division. Toney’s absence has afforded Mbeumo the opportunity to pop up in much deadlier positions, with him having more touches in the opposition box than any other Bees player in the top-flight (54). The Cameroon international’s 13 shots on target is also more than any of his fellow teammates have managed in the league this term.
Mbeumo has become one of the first names on the team sheet at the Gtech Community Stadium, while he has played more games (83) and minutes (6743) in the Premier League than any Brentford player since their promotion in 2021. Remarkably, no outfield player has boasted more minutes played than the Cameroon international in the top-flight across 2023-24 (900). The forward has appeared in each of the Bees’ last 67 league games – the third longest ongoing run of any player in the competition, behind only teammate Yoane Wissa (74) and Newcastle’s Dan Burn (72).
The Bees have matched last season’s points tally of 13 points in their opening 10 league games, doing so with exactly an identical record of three wins, four draws and three defeats. Though two of those victories have come in their last two Premier League outings, keeping clean sheets in both.
Brentford have never won three in a row without conceding in the competition.
Frank’s side host West Ham next at the weekend, with the Bees winning all four of their previous Premier League games against the Hammers. And it is a game that both Brentford and Mbeumo are sure to relish. The Bees are unbeaten in their last 13 London derbies in the Premier League, while there have only been four longer such runs in the competition’s history (three by Arsenal, one by Chelsea). Mbeumo meanwhile, has been directly involved in 11 goals across his last nine Premier League London derby matches (eight goals, three assists). In fact, since the start of last season only Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka (13) has had a hand in more such goals than Mbeumo (11).
Any pre-season fears of a dramatic slump have been firmly dispersed at the Gtech Community Stadium, with the Bees once again perched in the top half of the Premier League table. Mbeumo has adopted the leading role in the West End, with his performances receiving rave reviews.
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