Story by[]BBCFri, January 9, 2026 at 8:39 AM UTC·1 min readMichael Johnston from the Ealing Road Podcast has been praising Brentford's recruitment team for unearthing Igor Thigo on BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast. Thiago joined from Club Brugge in July 2024 for a club record fee of £30m, but was plagued by injury in his debut campaign, going goalless in eight appearances. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHowever, the 24-year-old has gone about making up for lost time this season, though, with his double against Sunderland taking him to 16 league goals - the most by a Brazilian in a single Premier League campaign."The fact Brentford could have a Brazilian number nine at a World Cup is a pinch-me thing," said Johnston. "Thiago has been a revelation and he can do a bit of everything."What has impressed me the most is his progression from the beginning of the season until now. Not many fans had him down to be a 16-goal striker by January."He is putting out Erling Haaland numbers and is the latest in the Brentford conveyor belt of strikers. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"He joins Ollie Watkins, Ivan Toney, Yoane Wissa, Bryan Mbeumo, Neal Maupay, Scott Hogan and Andre Gray."We have something special in our recruitment because we keep finding these strikers that put away loads of goals."Listen to the Football Daily podcast on BBC Sounds[BBC].