not even 3 years ago he was playing in Bulgaria, now he is “hunting” Haaland and he could play in the World Cup!

Igor Thiago arrived in the Premier League in the summer of 2024, bought by Brentford from Club Brugge for 33 million euros.

His rise has been meteoric: brought up by Cruzeiro, he played in his native country until 2022 and was brought to Europe by the Ludogoretsthe champion of the last 14 seasons in Bulgaria.

The South American did not stay long in Romania's neighboring country. After only a year and a half he made the move to Belgium, to Club Bruggewho undertook a major financial effort, paying 11 million euros for his services.

The sensational explosion of Igor Thiago: until 2023 he played in Bulgaria, now he breaks the nets in the Premier League

He would not stay long in Belgium either. After 29 goals in just 55 appearancesan average of 0.52 successes per match, packed his bags for the world's most important championship, the Premier League.

Brentford bought him for 33 million euros, but could not really rely on him in the first season, 2024/2025. Thiago had knee problems and missed the rest of the season, limiting himself to 8 appearances169 minutes without scoring a goal.

He recovered towards the end of last season, and in this new season he didn't need much time to show off his goalscoring instincts.

Igor Thiago is the second scorer in the Premier League: 16 goals, only below Haaland!

After 21 stages in this championship, Thiago boasts 16 goals, being the second scorer in the Premier League after Erling Haaland (20).

Last night, in the 3-0 win against Sunderland, he achieved a “double” effect: for the first goal he dribbled over the opposing goalkeeper, for the second he succeeded with a special header, from the spot, from short distance, placing the ball perfectly even in these conditions.

After the match, Brentford manager Keith Andrews was full of praise for the Brazilian.

Brentford manager: 'Only one direction for Igor Thiago's career – Up'

“He was sensational. The way he attacks, his influence in the Championship, the way he develops his game. You can judge by his goals now and to compare with the matches from the beginning of the season. But it's not just the goals, it's the overall performance.

He is not a centre-forward who sits between the defenders and waits for an opportunity. It is constantly moving. Moves between lines, presses, is excellent at set phases. He is a complete center forward“, said Andrews, quoted by sportal.bg.

The “bees” manager believes that Thiago exceeded all expectations:

“I think if anyone thought they could get that good, they probably weren't being completely honest. I don't know how many players have come from the Bulgarian or Belgian league, missed a year due to injury and then had such an influence on the game. I think he really exceeded all expectations.”

Asked if he was in favor of Thiago making Brazil's World Cup squad, the Brentford manager said:

“The composition of the Brazil team is not up to me, but I know what I think about Thiago and I appreciate him a lot. I wouldn't trade him for anyone. I can only see his trajectory going in one direction and that is up“, he added.

Brentford – Sunderland, video summary: