THOMAS FRANK GIVES VERDICT ON BRENTFORD ACADEMY ACES

Thomas Frank has praised the performances of Brentford’s young players after a pre-season friendly

 

As reported by the club’s official website, Brentford boss Thomas Frank has given his verdict on his side’s display in a recent pre-season friendly against Boreham Wood.

The game itself ended in a 1-1 draw, after Halil Dervisoglu put the Bees ahead before Timmy Abraham levelled things up in the second half. Given this was just a pre-season exercise though, the result hardly matters. Frank is simply looking for his players to gain fitness, and he made 10 half-time substitutions in order to get minutes into the legs of as many players as possible.

Most of Brentford’s best young prospects played the second half of the match, and Frank was impressed with their endeavour. The Danish coach said of the youngsters’ performance: “lots of effort, a few changes which meant we lost control of the game a little bit, but I liked what I saw from the very young players.”

Brentford’s bright future

Several stars from the Brentford B squad were amongst this second half raft of youthful talent. Defenders Tristan Crama, Ji-Soo Kim, and Charlie Farr got a run out, as did midfielder Ethan Brierley, and forwards Tony Yogane and Nathan Young-Coombes.

There is plenty of young talent in Brentford’s senior squad too, including 22-year-old forward Keane Lewis-Potter who made his return from a long-term injury to play against Boreham Wood. There will be high hopes that Lewis-Potter can kick on in the Premier League this season.

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Aston Villa are eyeing a summer swoop for Nottingham Forest’s Brennan Johnson

Forest, despite rejecting a £30 million offer from Brentford last month, are thought to be open to a sale if agreeable terms can be reached.

That’s according to Craig Hope, of the Daily Mail, who claims that due to Forest’s financial fair play struggle, they would be open to letting Johnson go, and the word from the Welsh winger’s camp is that he would be open to a move to Villa Park and to play under Unai Emery.

Talks have reportedly taken place between the two parties and both parties are interested if a deal is viable. Villa have been linked to Moussa Diaby recently, but it seems a move for Johnson is in the offing this summer. Villa are reportedly very keen on the Welsh winger and the feeling is thought to be mutual, so expect this one to be an interesting rumour throughout the remainder of the summer transfer window.

The winger has taken to the Premier League like a duck to water this season, with eight goals to his name across his 38 appearances in the Premier League this season.

Johnson, alongside January signing Danilo, played a crucial role in helping ensure Forest stayed in the Premier League after a difficult start in England’s top flight.

As mentioned previously, Brentford did see a £30 million bid rejected but they were confident last week of capturing the 22-year-old despite the gap in valuation, with Forest reportedly demanding £50 million.

But, according to the Daily Mail, they have seemingly changed that stance and are now prepared to negotiate at around £40 million which could be music to the ears of not just Villa, but also Thomas Frank’s Brentford.

It is clear that Unai Emery, who has worked wonders with Ollie Watkins, would be able to get the best out of the Welsh winger, so it’s easy to see why the move would appeal to Johnson.