Brentford are renowned for their excellent recruitment – discovering unpolished gems, turning them into stars and selling for huge profits.
Just the strikers they have had over the past few years – Ollie Watkins, Ivan Toney, Bryan Mbeumo and others – bear witness to that.
However, owner Matthew Benham has revealed they missed out on a number of targets in recent seasons who have since gone on to be stars elsewhere.
Speaking to presenter Roger Bennett from the Men In Blazers podcast at MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference 2026, external last weekend, Benham was grilled on those that they pursued but did not end up signing:
Eberechi Eze: “We could have had him for £4m in 2016.”
Omar Marmoush: “He was available on a free about three years ago.”
Mykhailo Mudryk: “We were very close to signing him for a low fee.”
Michael Olise: “His scouting was unbelievable but we had just been promoted and were not used to the crazy agent fees for the time. The fee was so insanely high for that one, we had to step away.”
Although some got away, Brentford’s five seasons in the Premier League are testament to their expert dealings in the transfer market.
Perhaps that is why Benham can calmly reflect: “There will always be ones you miss out on.”