Three options for Brentford to fill the creative void left by Christian Eriksen
Brentford fans, you’re not dreaming — the journey continues. After a magical two years with Thomas Frank, earning promotion to the Premier League via the play-off and then maintaining their top flight status with relative ease last season, the Bees are full of momentum, and will be eager to get into the next campaign when it kicks off on August 6th.
Judging by the fixtures, it could be a tough year for the west Londoners, who perhaps overachieved ahead of their sophomore year, but some shrewd recruitment combined with their passionate fans returning to the new Community Stadium, Frank built a side capable of upsetting even the best teams in the league. While they’re definitely not favourites for the drop on the betting exchange, we’ve seen the likes of Sheffield United and Leeds United suffer with second season syndrome in recent years — struggling to recapture the form that made them so stable after a bright start.
Things could just have easily gone wrong at Brentford had Christian Eriksen not signed to alleviate some of the creative responsibility. The 30-year-old, who suffered a cardiac arrest while playing for his native Denmark at the Euros last summer, was finally given the green light to return to the pitch at the turn of the year, and with Italian rules meaning he was ineligible for Inter Milan, he linked up with compatriot Frank at Brentford, helping them finish 14th.
It always looked unlikely that Eriksen’s future was at the Bees though, and despite the manager’s confidence they could secure the midfielder on a permanent basis, it looks likely he’ll make a step up come the start of the season. But how do you replace him? Read on, as we look at three attacking options Brentford could pursue to fill the creative void left by Eriksen.
Morgan Gibbs-White
Having spent a year in the Championship at Sheffield United, England under 21 international Morgan Gibbs-White looks ready to make the jump to the Premier League. Owned by Wolverhampton Wanderers, the dynamic midfielder would struggle to fit into Bruno Lage’s system, and could be a ready-made replacement for Eriksen at Brentford, with a fee in the region of £25 million. The Bees would do well to secure his signature though, with Brighton and Hove Albion and Nottingham Forest also interested.
Saïd Benrahma
Once a Bee, aways a Bee as the Brentford fans say, and who better than to replace the space Saïd Benrahma left on the wing, than to re-sign the man himself. The 26-year-old has been in and out of the West Ham United side since his move in 2020, often dividing opinion amongst the Irons fans. The controversial Algerian has had a mixed relationship with David Moyes, and with the Scot interested in Joshua King, Benrahma could be moved on as paperweight for the deals to go through — something Brentford could benefit from.
Emmanuel Dennis
In Eriksen leaving, you’d expect the goals to dry up for top scorer Ivan Toney, who settled in to life in the top flight quickly considering his only real experience had come in the Football League. While an attacking midfielder might be hard to come by, Frank is flexible with his formations and if the signing of Emmanuel Dennis is completed, as it was rumoured to be in the works following the Watford’s relegation, the two could form a deadly partnership.
Dennis, who scored 11 goals for the Hornets as they faced the drop, saw his form fall off after he was denied access to Nigeria’s Africa Cup of Nations campaign, but he showed encouraging signs in front of goal and if used in the right system, could find his magic touch in red and white stripes.