Brentford have two senior international goalkeepers both expecting to be No.1 and another coming through. It’s a nice problem for Thomas Frank.
Manchester United may have beaten Brentford to Christian Eriksen, but the Bees have taken some measure of revenge by signing Thomas Strakosha, the goalkeeper in every free-agent XI on the internet this summer.
Strakosha joined Brentford on Thursday after leaving Lazio at the end of last season. The Albania international has played six campaigns in the Rome side’s sticks, getting a taste of the Champions League and Europa League along the way. For most of that time, he was undisputed No.1. He lost his status briefly in 2020/21 before regaining the starting spot last December.
The prospect of free-agency led to Strakosha being linked with plenty of Premier League clubs. Newcastle, Chelsea, Southampton, Fulham and United have all been credited with an interest, with a range of roles in mind. But Brentford swooped to sign the 27-year-old on a four-year contract.
Landing the Lazio No.1 serves as another reminder of how far Brentford have come. It also leaves Thomas Frank with arguably the Premier League’s strongest goalkeeping department – and a selection dilemma.
As well as Strakosha, Frank has David Raya and Matthew Cox to guard his goal. Raya was one of Brentford’s best players in their first season back in the top flight and his presence was missed during a four-month injury lay-off in which the Bees lost nine of 13 games. So impressive was the 26-year-old that he earned his first Spain call-up in March, when he made his international debut against Strakosha’s Albania. This is a Spain squad that David De Gea, despite his form last season, cannot get in.
Cox was also in line for a debut last term – a Premier League bow against United before the game was postponed. The 19-year-old joined Brentford last summer from AFC Wimbledon and has impressed Frank enough to be viewed as a No.1 in waiting. Cox won the Under-19s European Championship with England this summer and, as a measure of how highly-rated he is at Brentford, the former Chelsea academy keeper last week signed a six-year contract.
Extremely delighted to sign a new long term contract @BrentfordFC thanks everyone @NewEraSports_ for all the help on and off the pitch, keep pushing now❤️ 🐝🐝 pic.twitter.com/XCTKzVcSo9
— Matthew Cox (@matt_cox01) July 8, 2022
Frank name-checked both Raya and Cox when welcoming Strakosha to Brentford…
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