FPL new signings: Can Thiago be the ‘new Toney’?

In February, it was announced that Brentford had agreed to a summer transfer for Club Brugge forward Igor Thiago (£6.0m)

Despite only arriving in Belgium the previous summer, an impressive post-Christmas period persuaded the Bees to pay a club-record £30m fee. He’ll be their first-ever Brazillian player.

So with star striker Ivan Toney (£7.5m) seemingly set to leave, can the 23-year-old Thiago adequately replace him – and what impact will he have in FPL?

We’ll take a look during this Scout Report piece, which includes data and images from our Premium Members Area.

IN QUOTES

“When I was 13 years old, my father passed away. I started to work at the fair carrying fruit. I also worked as a bricklayer. I had several jobs when I was younger, before I got into professional football and got the opportunity to play abroad. It helped me as a man, and it helped me as person. It helped me to appreciate the little and big things in life.” – Igor Thiago

“We have signed a key player for a key position. Thiago is a very exciting striker who fits the role in our team. He is hard working and a very good pressing player. He is also a physical presence, very good in the box and can link the play.” – Brentford head coach Thomas Frank

“I’m the kind of player who puts on pressure, intensity. I always want to be pressing, to help my team in the best way I can on the pitch. Help my team-mates to hold on to the ball and score lots of goals.” – Igor Thiago

“He is very strong and not nice for defenders. He goes for every ball and manages to recover balls that you do not see him getting to. What he is very good at is being in the right place at the right time, attacking balls, and he also takes penalties. He is a pretty complete striker in most aspects, with a high ceiling.” – Belgian journalist Tomas Taecke

THE HISTORY

Young jobs as a bricklayer and fruit carrier forced Thiago to grow up quickly and, after starting at regional team Vere FC, he was spotted by Cruzeiro. His debut came at age 18 but initial progress was slow.

Still, his potential when netting 10 times in 64 outings tempted Bulgarian side Ludogorets into a late 2021/22 purchase.

Early European months were predominantly as a substitute but things changed at the start of 2023. Thiago ended the campaign with 15 goals and eight assists – particularly notable was an 11-minute hat-trick against Botev Vratsa.

A couple of Europa Conference League strikes past Anderlecht set him up nicely for the £6.8m move to Club Brugge.

Here, an autumn spell of nine goalless league games preceded a stunning run of 11 in six. Weeks later, Brentford decided to get ahead of the curve and thrash out a deal.

Overall, Thiago’s 2023/24 delivered 29 goals in 55 matches, including seven continental ones that took his side to the Conference League semi-final. It convinced UEFA to honour him as the competition’s Young Player of the Season.

He also won a league title with both clubs.

PLAYING STYLE

A 6ft 2in striker, Igor Thiago is a strong physical presence up top who can offer an aerial presence and link-up play.

Yet he seems to be more than a stereotypical physical forward. Occasional drifts towards midfield force defenders to ask questions, while a high number of last season’s goals took place inside the six-yard box, suggesting he has poaching qualities.

When compared with the 11 Premier League players who scored at least 16 goals, only Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.5m) had a better goal conversion rate. Thiago netted with 31.4% of his shots from a low 51 attempts.

He certainly took his two goals in last Saturday’s friendly against Wimbledon clinically enough.

A possible concern for FPL managers is his tendency to get booked. A total of 11 came during the Ludogorets year. A dozen occurred at Club Brugge, plus a red card versus local rivals Cercle.

WHERE IGOR THIAGO FITS IN AT BRENTFORD

The immediate thought is that Thiago will simply take Toney’s spot, as the latter’s contract expires next year. Both he and the club have been remarkably open in talking about it.

They coped admirably throughout the England forward’s betting ban but drifted away in later months, eventually finishing 16th.

Thomas Frank was fairly fluid with his systems, regularly switching between a wing-back system and 4-3-3. The 3-5-2 got more of an outing last season due to a lack of full-backs and Toney’s absence. Traditionally, though, Frank reserves the set-up for the division’s top sides.

In both cases, the new number nine will be deployed as centre-forward if he starts. Bryan Mbeumo (£7.0m) or Yoane Wissa (£6.0m) would flank him in a 4-3-3, with likely Mbeumo partnering him in a 3-5-2. Wissa bagged eight goals in the final 13 matches, however, so it’s not a given that Thiago will immediately be thrown into the starting line-up.

Above: Some underlying Brentford stats from 2023/24

Interestingly, some bits of Brentford’s 2023/24 data suggest they’re one of the league’s most direct teams. Should this remain the case, Thiago’s heading ability could thrive.

IS HE WORTH BUYING IN FPL?

However, just like a possible easing-in period, Thiago and Brentford have a nasty run of opening fixtures. Their first five rank as the toughest on our Season Ticker.

Crystal Palace ended with six wins and four clean sheets from their closing seven matches. After that, there are trips to Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur by Gameweek 5.

Additionally, there’ll be a wait to see if he takes over penalty duties. Whilst Thiago has converted nine from 11 – missing in a 6-1 v RWD Molenbeek where he’d already claimed a hat-trick and assist – Mbeumo scored all of them during Toney’s absence. Wissa also stepped up in pre-season.

Therefore the best advice for FPL managers is to wait on Thiago. Fixtures are tricky, spot-kick status is unknown and he was bought after a hot spell of goals rather than the quiet one beforehand – the transfer could go either way.

Names like Erling Haaland (£15.0m), Alexander Isak (£8.5m), Ollie Watkins (£9.0m) and Mateta will all be popular for Gameweek 1. But a promising start could quickly thrust Thiago onto the radar.

We picked out Gameweek 6-13 as Brentford’s best run of games. They avoid any of last season’s top seven in this period and meet two of the newly promoted clubs.

If he passes the audition in the opening month, late September could be a good time to pounce.

SIGN UP HERE FOR ALL THE TOOLS YOU NEED TO WIN AT FPL!