Igor Thiago joined the London club from Belgian side Brugge for a club-record fee in July 2024.
More than the midpoint of the season, Brentford find themselves in a dream scenario.
With four wins in five games, and a Samba striker netting the goals, suddenly Bees fans are dreaming of thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.
A comprehensive three-nil win over the Black Cats moved their manager's side into the fifth spot in the Premier League – a position that was sufficient to secure European football last term.
Only table-toppers Arsenal have gathered more points over the past six games.
There's a significant distance to go yet but the West London outfit are squarely in the fight for European football.
Few was forecasting this last off-season.
The former head coach had left for Tottenham after a seven-year stint in charge, a period in which he had not only got the club to the Premier League but also cemented them in the elite division.
Club captain their Danish midfielder left for Arsenal and attacking duo two key forwards – who scored a total of thirty-nine goals in 2024-25 – were also sold, joining United and Newcastle respectively.
Specialist coach Andrews was elevated to replace the Dane, while there was no striker among the off-season arrivals.
A year of struggle, possibly even relegation, was widely predicted. But here we are in January with Brentford in the upper echelons.
So, what is behind their success?
The club's decision not to sign another striker was in part down to circumstance, with one forward's move not going through until the final day of the window.
But they also were aware they had a £30m striker already waiting to go.
Igor Thiago joined from Club Brugge in July 2024 for a then-record fee, but was plagued by fitness issues in his debut campaign, going goalless in eight appearances.
The 24-year-old has gone about compensating for lost time this season, though, with his brace against Sunderland taking him to sixteen league goals – the highest tally by a player from Brazil in a single English top-flight campaign.
Considering the countrymen who have come before him, that is some accomplishment, especially with seventeen matches left to play.
"He's been a revelation," former Liverpool midfielder an analyst said. "He's physically intimidating, quick, powerful, but more skilled than people think. Good with his feet, either foot, he can score off both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. His statistics are incredible. He must be so pleased. That's a huge compliment to him."
That only Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe have scored more in any of Europe's top five leagues to this point highlights the standard he is playing at.
And it is not just the volume but the timing of the goals that have been so pivotal for his team.
His first goal against the opposition was his seventh opener of the season. Given how often we are told the significance of the first goal in a game, having someone you can depend on to take that early opportunity cannot be underestimated.
Before the game against Sunderland, no player to have attempted at least 30 shots this season has a better shooting accuracy than the striker's 59.1%.
He finds the target. Do that often enough and the goals will – and have – come.
Given the hardships he had earlier in life, where he worked as a bricklayer to support his family following the passing of his father, perhaps it should be unsurprising that high-stakes situations on the pitch is something he takes in his stride.
"The recruitment team deserve a lot of praise for the kind of players they bring in and characters," Andrews said. "This is really notable. He is a really unique person who has adapted to life very well. He has had to earn this path. He has earned his journey and toiled. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is developing his skill set constantly and we are learning more and more about him. He is a pretty all-round centre-forward."
Igor Thiago is the headline act but Brentford are not and have never been a single-player team.
While they had star players – Ivan Toney, Christian Eriksen, Mbeumo and Wissa – under their previous boss, they were always seen as a team more effective than the sum of their parts.
The concern was that once the Dane left, that may not be the case, and that the collective quality of their parts alone might not be enough to stay up.
Consequently, appointing Andrews, with a blank managerial CV, and just a twelve months at the club was seen by those outside the club as a huge risk.
A first managerial job is a test for anyone, let alone when it comes in the world's toughest league and having made the jump from specialist coach to the top job.
But given that Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna was the only other alternative that the hierarchy looked at, they were clearly convinced they had the right man.
To date, as often seems to be the case with the brains trust at Brentford, it looks as if they were vindicated.
The new boss won just one of his first five league games in charge but big home victories against United, the Reds and Newcastle have followed.
Results that, following their brilliant recent form, could prove all the more important in the pursuit for European qualification.
"We are in good form and playing really good. We are playing with courage and conviction in everything we do with or without the ball," Andrews added. "We're happy with how we are going but we want to keep pushing."
In a league where fourth and 15th are currently separated by just eight points, they have no other option, because things could rapidly look very different.
But, for now, The Bees are defying the odds. And the longer that lasts, the closer to fruition those aspirations of Europe will become.
Elara is a seasoned gaming journalist with a passion for slot mechanics and player strategies.
