Brentford

Adam Pope
BBC Radio Leeds reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Brentford's move for midfielder Archie Gray fell through because the Bees could not meet the price structure Leeds United wanted.

The deal for the 18-year-old was worth £40m and Brentford had verbally met the release clause and included an exit clause if not promoted.

He travelled for a medical on Saturday, but the bid was then rejected and it is unknown whether he completed or even started the medical.

Tottenham, as expected, were waiting in the wings and have activated the clause and met the desired structure of the deal.

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Managers will always outwardly support their players on the international stage, but you can be sure one or two will privately be hoping for an early exit from Euro 2024 for a few of their star men.

International tournament summers disrupt pre-season for managers.

Various players from different nations return to their clubs at different times, sometimes with injuries, holidays get postponed and rescheduled. As a general rule, the best players are more likely to play for the best nations and therefore go further in international tournaments.

The Euro 2024 final will take place on 14 July. Over half of Premier League clubs already have a pre-season fixture scheduled within 10 days of that.

Of English clubs, unsurprisingly, Premier League champions Manchester City have comfortably the most players in the Euro 2024 knockouts. The best represented Premier League side at the start of the competition have a full line-up of 11 stars still in Germany.

They are followed by the rest of last season's top three - Arsenal and Liverpool - who have eight and seven respectively. Manchester United also have seven while Brentford - aided by their healthy Danish contingent - have six and Crystal Palace five.

Championship play-off winners Southampton's three representatives were all eliminated at the group stage, while fellow newly promoted side Ipswich have not seen their summer impacted at all by players at Euro 2024.

Of the Championship-winning Leicester squad, goalkeeper Mads Hermansen and defenders Wout Faes and Jannik Vestergaard remain in Germany - as does Turkey's Yunus Akgun, who spent last season on loan with the Foxes.

This data was provided by Opta and counts the clubs where players finished at the end of the 2023-24 season.

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Brentford are reportedly interested in signing Leicester City's Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

The Bees face competition from fellow Premier League clubs Chelsea and Brighton, who are understood to be in talks with the Foxes for the midfielder.

The Blues have the advantage of being able to offer Dewsbury-Hall the chance to link up again with former Leicester boss Enzo Maresca, after the Italian became Chelsea's new head coach earlier this month.

The situation is complicated further by Dewsbury-Hall's general reluctance to leave his boyhood club.

In an interview with BBC Sport this week, Dewsbury-Hall said: "I have been here since I was a kid. I love everything about the club. I grew up and managed to play in the first team. I am happy.

"I have never said I am actively wanting to leave. That sort of stuff is not up to me. You never know with football - the season is about to start, so we will see."

The Foxes are in a poor position under the Premier League profit and sustainability rules and it is thought they need to sell the academy graduate to satisfy the regulations.

Brentford are interested in 25-year-old Leicester City midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who is valued at about £40m. (Mail), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

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We asked for your views on which Euros player would be a good fit for Brentford.

Here are a few of your suggestions:

Mark: Sign nobody from a tournament, it's an expensive showcase and Brentford's recruitment model doesn't work that way. Any signings are recruited over long-term performances, background and personality traits. So no, Brentford won't be signing anyone based on a handful of matches...

Cliff: Ferdi Kadioglu, the Turkish left-back, would be ideal as wing-back competition for Rico Henry.

Chris: Romania's Dennis Man fits the bill perfectly. Young, fast and full of potential.

Bizzy Bee: We don't sign players in the shop window, we go for lesser-known names with potential sell-on value.

Anonymous: Sesko - forward thinking, fast-paced forward, creates space and chances.

As the Euros group stage comes to a close, how's your scouting report gone?

Who has caught your eye as a perfect signing for Brentford?

And how would they fit into Thomas Frank's starting XI?

Give us your suggestions here, external

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Former Chelsea and Everton boss Frank Lampard says he has been "influenced" by watching managers like Brentford's Thomas Frank.

Lampard, 46, has been out of work since his second spell as Chelsea boss - on an interim basis - ended in 2023.

Frank has impressed during his time in charge of Brentford, securing promotion to the Premier League in 2021 and then establishing them as a top-flight side.

"I love watching what other managers are doing, the different approaches and because of my connections I've been able to go and watch certain managers work," Lampard told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"Thomas invited me to Brentford last season and I went and watched how he worked. There are lots of little things that can impress you or little nuggets that you take and think 'oh yeah, I see that'. I think coaching should be about sharing information, you should never be closing and keeping everything to yourself.

"There aren't any managers who I have ever reached out to who haven't said 'come down, no problem'. When you go down to Thomas, or Pep [Guardiola], different managers, all of them to a man have been like 'come and have a meeting, come and watch training, what do you think about that?' They have been so open and that influenced me."

Frank did not come from a traditional football background into coaching, which Lampard feels has helped the Dane.

"There is many a pathway to get into management," he added. "You should never disrespect anyone for whatever their pathway is as long as they put the work in.

"When you see someone like Thomas and how diligent he is and how well he speaks, you understand he has put thousands of hours into viewing, observing, working out his way, his approach to people.

"You don't have to be a football person to understand how people work."

Listen to the exclusive interview on BBC Sounds

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Brentford striker Ivan Toney says his "main focus" is on doing well for England and not speculation about his future.

The 28-year-old is in Germany but is yet to feature for Gareth Southgate's side at Euro 2024.

There has been a lot of speculation around the forward's future, with a number of top-flight clubs said to be interested. When Bees boss Thomas Frank was asked about Toney while working as a pundit for the BBC, he said the club have "prepared" for the striker to leave by signing Igor Thiago from Club Bruges.

When asked about his manager's comments, Toney said: "I didn't hear him say that. I can't predict the future and if I could I wouldn't be sat here in front of you guys. What will be will be and my main focus is playing well and doing well for my country."

Toney was linked with a move away from Brentford in January and he added: "I've been through it [transfer speculation] before. There's been lots of talk of me going here, there and everywhere before in my career and I just don't let outside noise get to me.

"I'm here with England now, and the main focus is doing well for England and whatever happens, happens. I can't control it.

"From 18 when I was supposed to go to Wolves and I was all excited and getting involved in all of it, then it didn't happen, it hurt me.

"So since then I thought 'why am I trying to take control of things when I don't need that pressure?' I just let people who take care of those things to do it and I focus on the pitch."

Image source, Getty Images

The free-kick scored by Brentford's Mikkel Damsgaard in the semi-final of Euro 2020 at Wembley is the only goal that Denmark have scored against England at a major tournament.

Thursday's Euro 2024 group match will be the fourth encounter between the nations at a European Championship or World Cup. Denmark failed to win any of the previous three meetings.

The fixtures for the new Premier League season are out and we asked you for your predictions on where Brentford will be after 10 games.

Here is a selection of your comments:

Jake: Hard to predict, but if we take points off the teams we'd be expected to, we should be somewhere in mid-table.

Ken: With a fully fit squad, Rico, Hickey and Mee back, keeping hold of Mbeumo and Wissa, we will be comfortably top half.

Charlie: Looking at the first 10 matches, I feel we can realistically take 23 points and be in the top half of the table. However, as Thomas Frank always says, one game at a time. Let's hope we just perform to our best.

Paul: If the signings are made for a push to the top 10, then we will be in mid-table after 10 games.

Image source, Getty Images

Brentford and Crystal Palace will open their Premier League campaigns with their meeting on Sunday, 18 August.

Brentford are winless in all six of their Premier League meetings with Crystal Palace (D5 L1). They are the team the Bees have faced the joint-most without winning (also six v Newcastle). Brentford are the team the Eagles have faced the joint-most without losing (also six v QPR).

Following a 3-1 win in December 2023, Palace are looking to win consecutive league games against the Bees for the first time since December 1957.

Palace beat Sheffield United 1-0 in their opening league game last season but have not won their first league match in consecutive campaigns since 2006-07 and 2007-08.

Now the fixtures for the new Premier League season are out, it is time to start looking ahead to your club's 2024-25 campaign and all the key matches.

So, where do you think the Bees will be after the first 10 games?

Let us know, external

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Brentford's London derby at home to Crystal Palace will be televised, as Thomas Frank puts his summer of uncertainty behind him.

The 50-year-old Dane was discussed as a potential option to replace Erik ten Hag at Manchester United and Mauricio Pochettino at Chelsea.

In the end, he has ended up staying in west London where he has excelled, despite an injury-hit 2023-24 season which ended up being a relative struggle as the Bees finished 16th in the Premier League.

As a club, Brentford feel they can qualify for Europe for the first time in their history.

This is a club with one of the lowest wage bills in the Premier League - and a trip to Anfield to face Liverpool in their second game just highlights the scale of the clubs they are competing against.

Brentford's Premier League fixtures for the 2024-25 season have arrived and if you haven't seen them yet you can find them here.

The Bees have early home games against Crystal Palace and Southampton, and they will face local rivals Fulham in the west London derby at the beginning of November.

On Boxing Day, the Seagulls are set to make the trip down to Amex Stadium to play Brighton.

Thomas Frank's side will end the season with games against Ipswich Town, Fulham and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Fixtures for the Premier League opening weekend have been released.

The 2024-25 season will begin at Old Trafford with Manchester United welcoming Fulham.

Ipswich Town's 22 years away from the top flight will come to an end with a visit from Arne Slot's Liverpool, while fellow newly promoted sides Southampton and Leicester will visit Newcastle and welcome Tottenham respectively.

Elsewhere, champions Manchester City will begin their quest for a fifth Premier League title in a row by travelling to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea in Enzo Maresca's first game in charge.

The games will take place between 16-19 August.

Brentford will begin their 2024-25 Premier League campaign against Crystal Palace at G-tech Community Stadium.

The match will take place on Sunday, 18 August at 14:00 BST.

You can find all of Brentford's fixtures here

Image source, Getty Images

Brentford boss Thomas Frank says the club are "on track with a lot of things" in regards to transfers this summer and "don't need to sell" in order to meet profit and sustainability rules or Financial Fair Play regulations.

The Bees struggled at times in their third Premier League campaign but comfortably secured safety with a 16th-placed finish despite star striker Ivan Toney being suspended for a large part of the season for breaching FA betting rules.

"We are on track with a lot of things I would say in terms of transfers," Frank told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast while at Euro 2024 with the BBC. "A lot of meetings, a lot of preparation. Pre-season - I'm looking forward to it starting again.

"It's soon. We're talking ten days until we're back in for the first time.

"We plan. It could be in one, two, three positions we want to strengthen. That's what we are going for first and then other things can happen. Maybe we are selling a player but we prepare for that."

Toney has been linked with a move away, but Frank says Brentford have already planned for all eventualities.

"There is no secret that with Ivan there is a lot of rumours about him," he said. "If he is leaving us - I would still like to keep him as a top player - then this time we have already prepared ahead and bought in Igor Thiago.

"Football is a strange thing sometimes but one of our strengths is the planning and strategy. I think that is a big weapon.

"I'm fully involved in every decision. Of course there is a reason why Lee Dykes is the technical director and has big responsibility for recruitment. Him and his team line up all the players but then we make a decision with all of us together and I see the most important players. The four of us agree if we want to try and buy or not."

Many clubs are in a position where they have to sell this summer in order to meet Premier League financial regulations but Frank has reassured Brentford fans that they are in a strong position.

"We don't need to sell," he confirmed.

"On FFP we are in a fantastic position because it is an unbelievably well-run club. The situation of buying players is just difficult."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Tottenham's bid for 28-year-old England forward Ivan Toney has been rejected by Brentford. (Football Transfers), external

Want more transfer news? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

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The 2024-25 Premier League fixtures are being released on Tuesday at 09:00 BST - and you will see them on the BBC Sport website and app as soon as they are announced.

What should you look out for?

By chief football news reporter Simon Stone

Matches around European games

This will be even more keenly assessed than usual given the four clubs in the Champions League and two in the Europa League will have eight first-phase games rather than six. Long trips before or after European games do not go down well with managers.

Matches around internationals

There are international breaks in September, October, November and March. In Europe, the first three of those are for Nations League fixtures. World Cup qualifiers in Europe start in March 2025, though in South America and Asia they are being played in all four windows.

England managers tend not to be keen on blockbuster league matches immediately before a break and club bosses are equally unhappy at having to play key matches after them when so many players get back on Thursday or Friday.

Festive fixtures

To allow for a mid-August start, there will not be a winter break this season. The Premier League has assured clubs they will not be asked to play twice in less than 60 hours at any point over Christmas and New Year. That rules out any club playing on 26 December also having a game on 28 December. There will be no Christmas Eve fixture in the 2024-25 season.

As the FA Cup third round has been moved from its traditional home on the first weekend of January to the second, it does seem there will be four rounds of fixtures over the festive period - starting on 21 December and ending on 5 January.

New managers

Four Premier League clubs already have new managers - Fabian Hurzeler (Brighton), Enzo Maresca (Chelsea), Arne Slot (Liverpool) and Julen Lopetegui (West Ham) - with a fifth to come at Leicester. So that's a new era beginning at 25% of clubs before a ball has been kicked. Russell Martin will take charge of a top-flight game for the first time after Southampton's promotion.

Brentford will refuse to sell striker Ivan Toney for any less than £60m, although they previously valued him at £80m. (Talksport), external

Toney is on Manchester United's shortlist of targets. (Independent), external

Want more transfer news? Read Friday's full gossip column