Igor Thiago: Brentford's Brazilian striker thriving after tough start - and already chasing a Premier League record

It is no surprise to see Erling Haaland leading the way in the Premier League goalscoring charts.

The Norwegian - who has 14 goals so far - has not dipped 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 has 11 in 13.

His first goal in the 3-1 win over Burnley on Saturday meant he took the club record from Ivan Toney for the quickest time to reach double figures in the Premier League. It was 15, it is now 13.

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The Brazilian - who is under contract until the summer of 2029 - is making up for lost time, after missing 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 is simple to understand why.

Here, ahead of the Bees' trip to Arsenal on Wednesday night - which is live on Sky Sports Main Event - we take a look at Thiago's time at Brentford so far, from his struggles with injury at the beginning to the present, where he is already closing in on a Premier League record.

Frustrating beginnings in west London

On Valentine's Day 2024, Brentford announced they had signed Igor Thiago from Club Brugge for £30m. He stayed in Belgium for the rest of the 2023/24 season, but it was seen as a key indicator that Ivan Toney's time as a Brentford player was coming to an end.

It should have eased the blow, but by the time Toney did leave for Saudi Arabia, just over six months later on August 30, Thiago had, in fact, been ruled out until towards the end of the year, having suffered a meniscus injury during a 5-2 win over AFC Wimbledon in pre-season - his first outing for the Bees.

That kept him out for the first 11 Premier League games, but he returned to make his debut in the 0-0 draw with Everton on November 23 and appeared in the next three games. However, he was soon back on the treatment table, having contracted a joint infection.

"The risk of getting a joint infection is very, very small, but apparently it's the opposite when you are a Brentford player; instead of a two per cent chance it's a 98 per cent chance," said Frank.

"But that will turn. Everything goes in circles. We'll get our luck."

Wissa, Mbeumo leaving meant he was main man regardless

Thiago did return to play cameo roles in each of the final four games of 2024/25 - and that would be the last time he was a player on the fringes in west London.

Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo scored 40 goals between them in all competitions, and with Brentford missing out on qualifying for Europe by nine points, it was inevitable the pair would move on to pastures new.

In the end, Wissa went to Newcastle for £55m, with Mbeumo departing for Newcastle for £71m.

And the beauty of it, from a Brentford perspective, was that they did not need to reinvest a chunk of that in a new No 9 - Thiago was back to full fitness and ready to step in.

In pre-season, he scored the first goal of the Keith Andrews era in a friendly against Gil Vicente.

A start that even Andrews did not anticipate

To say Thiago has taken to the Premier League like a duck to water this season would be an understatement.

His chant - where his name replaces the word 'Gold' in Spandau Ballet's 1983 hit of the same name - has echoed around the Gtech Community Stadium week after week, particularly recently, given his haul of seven goals in the 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 so much for me because I feel the love from them and then I can perform for them," he said after scoring two against Man Utd on September 27.

Five of his goals have come from the spot, a figure no one in the league has bettered. Only Haaland (14) and Brighton's Danny Welbeck (7) have more non-penalty goals than his six. He has overperformed his xG by 2.46, too.

Thiago's two most recent came in the aforementioned win over Burnley. In his post-match press conference, Andrews was asked if he had anticipated his striker having such an impact.

"Probably not, if we're being honest," he said. "it's not normal for players to come from Bulgarian, Belgian football, have a year out injured, more or less, and then impact the Premier League in the way that he has.

"I'd be probably telling porky pies if I said I would have anticipated this.

"I knew he would have a serious impact on the league because of the attributes he has physically and the type of player he is, but the goal return and the overall performance levels have been really, really impressive."

Andrews said earlier in the week Brazil 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.

Stepping up to the mark from the spot

It is almost a prerequisite that, for any forward to be Brentford's main man, it is imperative they are an accomplished penalty taker.

They have been awarded 30 since their first Premier League season in 2021/22 and missed only four of those.

Toney took 12 and scored 11, Mbeumo took 11 and scored 10 and Kevin Schade took one and missed it.

Thiago has now taken six and, in keeping with those that came before him, missed only one. That came in the 2-1 defeat away at Brighton in November. "Thiago has been immense for us this season, so there's no blame attached to him," Andrews said.

See below how his penalty placement compares to those who came before him.

A Premier League record in his sights already

Thiago has a long way to go before he even comes close to challenging for the title of highest scoring Brazilian in Premier League history, of course - Roberto Firmino has a firm grip of that record, with 82 goals scored during his time at Liverpool.

But there is another record he is chasing down - and looks increasingly likely to take before the season is over.

The current record for the most goals scored by a Brazilian player in a single Premier League season is shared by three players: Firmino achieved it in 2017/18, Arsenal's Gabriel Martinelli achieved it in 2022/23 and Matheus Cunha achieved it for Wolves last season before his summer move to Man Utd.

Thiago needs only four more to match it, five more to break it. With a goals-per-game ratio of 0.85 right now, it does not seem as though it will be long before he makes history.

Watch Arsenal vs Brentford live on Sky Sports Main Event from 6.30pm on Wednesday December 3; kick-off 7.30pm.

(c) Sky Sports 2025: Igor Thiago: Brentford's Brazilian striker thriving after tough start - and already chasing a Premier League record