Brentford playing dangerous game with transfer gamble following Yoane Wissa exit

Bees have taken a risk by not signing a replacement for Wissa and banking on the fitness of Igor Thiago

During negotiations over Yoane Wissa’s £55million move to Newcastle, Brentford had always been wary of the fact theyhad struggle to find a replacement so late in the window. And so it proved.

Winger Reiss Nelson’s loan from Arsenal was the only incoming signing on a quiet Deadline Day and director of football Phil Giles admitted on Tuesday that the squad’s attack still needs work.

“Offensively, it’ll take time to adapt and gel,” said Giles, reflecting on a summer of upheaval in which Brentford lost their two top goalscorers in Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo.

Brentford have, to most people’s minds, taken a risk by not signing an out-and-out replacement for Wissa.

They believe Kevin Schade can act as back-up to Igor Thiago, the only senior striker in Keith Andrews’ squad, while Nelson will provide cover for Schade, who typically plays on the left side of the frontline.

Wissa joined Newcastle for £55m on deadline day

Getty Images

It feels as though Brentford are playing a dangerous game, banking on the fitness of Thiago, who missed the majority of last season with injury, but Giles maintains that change brings opportunity.

Thiago has started the season well, scoring three goals in four games, while club-record signing Dango Ouattara hit the winner on debut against Aston Villa to prove there is life after Mbeumo.

There are shoots of optimism for Brentford despite losing 39 of the 66 Premier League goals they scored last season and Giles believes, given more time on the training ground, Andrews will be able to get the best out of the team’s forwards.

Schade, who missed from the penalty spot during last weekend’s stoppage-time defeat to Sunderland, is yet to get off the mark for the season, while there is much more to come from Fabio Carvalho.

Schade is expected to step up in the absence of Wissa and Mbeumo, and the quicker Andrews can get the German firing, the more functional Brentford’s attack will look.

Igor Thiago will spearhead a new-look Brentford attack following the departures of Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo

Getty Images

Andrews also has high expectations for Carvalho but has so far used him sparingly.

The 23-year-old midfielder arrived for big money last summer, and there is a wealth of untapped potential there that Andrews needs to find a way to harness.

Under Andrews, Brentford have continued to value quality over quantity from their forwards.

The Bees have had the joint fewest shots in the Premier League, a conscious ploy to get players into better shooting positions - only Fulham take shots from closer to the opposition goal.

There is a certain pressure, therefore, for Brentford’s forwards to convert their chances, but with Ouattara, granted from a small sample size, finding the target with all three of his shots in a Brentford shirt, you can begin to see how the 23-year-old is well-suited to their system.

Schade, despite a slow start to the season, is also adept at finding the target with his shots, ranking 13th among all Premier League players by percentage for shots on target last season.

Brentford’s success in the Premier League has been built on minimising waste across the pitch, and Andrews is following Thomas Frank’s lead in rebuilding an attack that prides itself on efficiency.