It is no surprise to see Erling Haaland leading the Premier League goalscoring charts.
The Norwegian – who has scored 14 goals so far – has not dropped below 22 league goals in any of his three full seasons to date and is just one goal away from joining the ‘100 Club’. He is truly in a league of his own.
But second to Haaland is Brentford’s Igor Thiago, who is 11 for 13.
His first goal in a 3-1 win over Burnley on Saturday it meant he took the club record from Ivan Toni for the fastest run to double figures in the Premier League. It was 15, now it’s 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 – is making up for lost time, having missed 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 continues live Ski Sports main event – we take a look at Thiago’s time at Brentford so far, from his early injury struggles to now, where he’s already closing in on the Premier League record.
Wednesday, December 3, 6:30 p.m
Start at 19:30
Frustrating beginnings in West London
On Valentine’s Day 2024, Brentford announced the signing of Igor Thiago from Club Brugge for £30m. He remained in Belgium until the end of the 2023/24 season, but it was seen as a key indicator that Ivan Toni’s time as a Brentford player was coming to an end.
That should have softened the blow, but by the time Toni left for Saudi Arabia just over six months later on 30 August, Thiago was effectively ruled out for the rest of the year, having suffered a meniscus injury during the 5-2 pre-season win over AFC Wimbledon – his first appearance for Be.
Thiago missed 30 Premier League games through injury in his first season in England
It kept him out of the first 11 Premier League games, but he returned to make his debut in a 0–0 draw with Everton on 23 November and featured in the next three games. However, he was soon back on the treatment table after developing a joint infection.
“The risk of getting a joint infection is very, very small, but obviously it’s the opposite when you’re a Brentford player; instead of a two per cent chance, it’s a 98 per cent chance,” Frank said.
“But it will turn around. Everything goes around in circles. We’ll be lucky.”
Visa, the departure of Mbeumo meant that he was the main man regardless
Thiago returned to play cameo roles in each of the final four games of the 2024/25 season – and it would be the last time he was a fringe player in west London.
Yoane Visa and Brian Mbeumo scored 40 goals between them in all competitions and with Brentford missing out on qualifying for Europe by nine points, it was inevitable that the pair would move on to pastures new.
Brian Mbeum’s summer move to Manchester United helped Thiago’s cause
In the end, Wisa went to Newcastle for £55m and Mbeumo went to Newcastle for £71m.
And the beauty of that, from Brentford’s perspective, was that they didn’t have to re-invest some of that in a new No.9 – Thiago was back to full fitness and ready to go.
In the pre-season, he scored the first goal of the Keith Andrews era in a friendly against Gil Vicente.
A start that even Andrews didn’t expect
To say Thiago took to the Premier League like a duck to water this season would be an understatement.
His singing – where his name replaces the word “Gold” in Spandau Ballet’s 1983 hit of the same name – has echoed through the Gtech Community Stadium week after week, especially recently as he has scored seven goals in his last five home games.
He thrives on it. “Since I joined Brentford, the fans have been with me, supporting me, singing my name. It means a lot to me because I feel love from them and then I can perform for them,” he said after scoring twice against Manchester United on September 27.
Five of his goals were scored from the spot, a figure unmatched by anyone in the league. Only Haaland (14) and Brighton’s Danny Welbeck (7) have more goals without penalties than his six. And he beat his kG by 2.46.
Tiago’s last two came in the aforementioned win over 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 players to come from Bulgarian, Belgian football, have a year injured, more or less, and then impact the Premier League the way he has.”
“I’d probably be talking pork pies if I said I’d expect this.”
“I knew he was going to have a serious impact on the league because of the physical attributes and type of player, but the goal return and overall performance levels were really, really impressive.”
Andrews said earlier this week that the Brazilian had been in touch about Thiago – and it seems only a matter of time before he receives his first call-up to Carlo Ancelotti’s squad.
Step up to mark from place
It is almost a prerequisite for any striker to be Brentford’s main man, it is imperative that he be a successful penalty taker.
They have won 30 awards since the first season in the 2021/22 Premier League and have only missed out on four of them.
Tony took 12 and scored 11, Mbeumo took 11 and scored 10 and Kevin Schade took one and missed it.
Thiago now took six and, in keeping with those before him, missed only one. That was in a 2-1 defeat away at Brighton in November. “Thiago has been massive for us this season, so no fault of his own,” Andrews said.
Check out how his penalty schedule compares to those that came before him below.
The Premier League record is already in his sights
Of course, Thiago has a long way to go before he even comes close to being the Brazilian’s top goalscorer in Premier League history – Roberto Firmino firmly holds that record, with 82 goals scored during his time at Liverpool.
But there’s one more record he’s chasing – and it looks like he’ll achieve it before the season is over.
The current record for most goals scored by a Brazilian player in one Premier League season is shared by three players: Firmino achieved it in 2017/18, Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli achieved it in 2022/23 and Mateus Cunha scored it for Wolves last season before his summer move to Manchester United.
Tiago needs just four more to tie it, five more to break it. With a goals-per-game ratio of 0.85 right now, it doesn’t seem like it will be long before he makes history.
Watch Arsenal vs Brentford live Ski Sports main event from 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, December 3; start at 7:30 p.m.