Thomas Frank deserves more credit for making Bryan Mbeumo and Yoanne Wissa Brentford’s post-Ivan Toney solution

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Even Thomas Frank won’t give himself enough credit.

After a Bryan Mbeumo brace and a Yoanne Wissa goal fired Brentford to a 4-2 home win over Brighton & Hove Albion, the Brentford head coach was asked about his strike partnership.

Frank said that their 34 combined goals this term (18 for Mbeumo, 16 for Wissa) is an “incredible achievement. All the praise to them and of course to my staff, and I think a little bit about the way we play”.

This is the latest time Frank has rebuilt Brentford’s front-line. In the Championship in 2019-20, the ‘BMW’ trio of Said Benrahma, Mbeumo and Ollie Watkins provided two dribblers and real pace either side of a penalty box No 9.

When Watkins and Benrahma left for Aston Villa and West Ham in summer 2020 (Brentford were losing play-off finalists against west London rivals Fulham), Ivan Toney arrived from Peterborough United and Brentford finally went up.

His target man profile suited the switch to a more underdog style in 2021-22, Brentford’s debut Premier League season. They adapted, playing less expansively against better teams, setting up in a 3-5-2 with Mbeumo off Toney. Brentford survived comfortably and, in their second season, finished ninth and Toney scored 20 goals — they were particularly excellent at seeing out wins.

“When you consistently, over the last six seasons, have produced top scorers, there must be something we’re doing right,” Frank said. He pointed out that Liverpool — with Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz — are the only side with an attacking “duo” that betters Mbeumo and Wissa’s goal return.

Scouting and data-led recruitment are what Brentford are often seen as “doing right”. Wissa and Mbeumo are shining examples, plucked for a combined €16.5million (£14.1m) from yo-yoing French sides Lorient and Troyes, aged 23 and 19. Wissa was brought in the summer Brentford were promoted, while Mbeumo joined in 2020 and started the victorious play-off final in 2021.

Frank was quick to praise the scouting department when asked about Wissa last matchday, after he hooked in a smart equaliser away to Arsenal following the second phase of a set piece. Praise for himself? Minimal.

“To be fair, he was a winger back then (at Troyes), but what I liked was he was very good at arriving on the last line inside the box,” Frank explained. “That’s why I thought, ‘yes, that’s the player who will score goals for us’. He’s the second winger I’ve converted to a nine with OK success”.

“OK success” is overly humble considering Wissa and Mbeumo (the first winger Frank “converted”) are Brentford’s leading Premier League scorers. They both overtook Toney earlier this season in the scoring charts, while Mbeumo’s two goals against Brighton make him the most prolific Brentford player in a season since Toney two years ago (24 goal involvements, with five penalties).

This was the 18th Premier League match where Mbeumo and Wissa have both scored — seven of those have been this term, the most of any pair. A good performance from one seems to uplift the other.

The pair encapsulate the “layers” Frank is obsessed with adding to Brentford. It means slightly more possession, territory and longer passing sequences, especially against opponents on their level.

They rarely play a back five anymore, sticking to a 4-3-3. Nominal winger Lewis-Potter continues to deputise at left-back excellently, and, against Brighton, 20-year-old Michael Kayode (a summer arrival from Fiorentina) took up advanced positions in the right half-space, running beyond Mbeumo.

It elevated their wide threat and created two-v-one overloads — Brentford’s eight crosses completed was the joint-most of any team against Brighton in a Premier League game since November 2023 (13 by Nottingham Forest).

Mbeumo nearly completed a hat-trick from a Vitaly Janet deep cross in second-half stoppage time, only for Lewis Dunk to block the shot.

Kevin Schade’s pace at left-wing was specifically effective against makeshift Brighton right-back Mads Wieffer. That showed three minutes in when Lewis-Potter’s long pass released him, and he found Wissa with a cutback — the striker shot straight at Bart Verbruggen.

The opener came from a stylish move through the press, as Brighton — who had actively kept an extra defender at the back and struggled to defend aggressively early on — went man-for-man and Brentford exploited them.

Lewis-Potter worked a one-two with No 10 Damsgaard (who had plenty of roam to roam because Mbeumo and Wissa were stretching play), then slotted the Cameroonian through to score.

Mbeumo was an outball all game, particularly from Mark Flekken. He duelled in the air and on the floor against Brighton’s left-back Pervis Estupinan (5ft 9in).

Wissa was the much quieter of the two in the first half, though he worked tirelessly to press Verbruggen into poor passes. Mbeumo’s second came from a misplaced pass by the goalkeeper just after the break. Centre-back Sepp van den Berg collected the loose ball, Damsgaard provided the link to Wissa in the box, and Mbeumo only needed one touch to control the lay-off before curling a far-post finish.

Ten minutes later, they reversed roles and hit Brighton on the break. Damsgaard was pivotal again, releasing Mbeumo in-behind Estupinan. He held the ball for Wissa’s run and found him for a first-time finish (aided by a deflection off Lewis Dunk) to make it 3-1. Three very different goals, all in open-play: one through the press, one high turnover, one counter-attack.

Mbeumo 🤝 Wissa

Combining once again 🫶 pic.twitter.com/8YkPPMD9Ki

— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) April 19, 2025

Two French-born but African-representing internationals (Mbeumo plays for Cameroon, Wissa for DR Congo), the pair are archetypal of the goalscoring wide-forward roles which have defined the Premier League in recent seasons, rather than traditional No 9s. As a goalscorer, though, Wissa is classic: 12 one-touch finishes this term and all his goals have been in the box.

Frank’s point of style suiting Wissa and Mbeumo is about how Brentford create and exploit space. He still has them press high and often man-for-man, though when leading, they kick long plenty (often setting up to play short and playing over the press) and are one of the league standouts at low block defending, meaning they rarely face deep defences themselves.

The longevity of Frank means he has had the time and resources to coach multiple systems and varied tactics. Elsewhere, he may not have received the grace and/or patience to rebuild a team which crashed from ninth in 2022-23 to 16th last season, struggling to adapt following the departures of David Raya (to Arsenal), Christian Eriksen (to Manchester United) and the ban of Toney before he left.

With a settled forward line, Frank’s success has come from fielding consistent XIs and strengthening relationships. With French and with goals, the pair speak the same language on the pitch. Frank has found his post-Toney solution, and arguably an upgrade — a success of coaching, not just recruitment.

(Top photo: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

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