Igor Thiago joined the London club from Club Brugge for a £30 million fee in July 2024.
More than the midpoint of the season, Brentford find themselves in dreamland.
With victories in five games, and a Brazilian striker banging in the goals, suddenly Bees fans find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.
A comprehensive three-nil win over Sunderland moved Keith Andrews' side into the fifth spot in the top flight – a place that was sufficient to secure European football last season.
Solely leaders Arsenal have accumulated more points over the past six games.
There is a significant distance to go yet but the West London outfit are squarely in the race for continental football.
No one was envisioning this last off-season.
Thomas Frank had left for Spurs after a seven-year stint in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club promoted but also established them in the elite division.
Skipper their Danish midfielder left for the North London club and goal-scoring duo two key forwards – who scored a combined of 39 goals in the previous campaign – were out the door, joining United and Newcastle respectively.
Specialist coach Andrews was promoted to succeed Frank, while there was no striker among the off-season arrivals.
A season of struggle, possibly even the drop, was forecast. But here we are in the new year with the club in the upper echelons.
So, how have they managed it?
Brentford's decision not to sign another striker was in part down to timing, with Wissa's move not going through until deadline day.
But they also were aware they had a £30m striker already chomping at the bit.
The 24-year-old joined from Club Brugge in July 2024 for a then-record fee, but was plagued by fitness issues in his debut campaign, going without a goal in eight appearances.
The 24-year-old has gone about compensating for lost time this season, though, with his brace against Sunderland taking him to sixteen league goals – the highest tally by a player from Brazil in a single Premier League campaign.
Given the countrymen who have come before him, that is some accomplishment, especially with 17 games remaining.
"He has been a breath of fresh air," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He is a physical specimen, fast, strong, but technically better than people think. Excellent with his feet, either foot, he can score with both. You can see he's full of confidence. His statistics are fantastic. He must be so proud. That's a huge compliment to him."
That only Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe have scored more in any of Europe's top five leagues to this point shows the level he is playing at.
And it is not just the volume but the timing of the goals that have been so vital for Brentford.
His opener against the opposition was his 7th opener of the season. Given how often we are told the significance of the initial strike in a game, having someone you can depend on to take that first big chance cannot be underestimated.
Prior to the game against their opponents, no player to have attempted at least thirty efforts this season has a better shooting accuracy than the striker's 59.1%.
He hits the target. Achieve that often enough and the goals will – and have – come.
Given the struggles he had in his youth, where he worked as a bricklayer to support his family following the passing of his father, perhaps it should be unsurprising that pressure on the pitch is something he handles with ease.
"The recruitment team deserve a lot of praise for the type of players they bring in and characters," Andrews said. "This is really notable. He is a really special person who has adapted to life very well. He has had to forge this path. He has worked for his journey and toiled. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is improving his abilities constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a pretty complete centre-forward."
Igor Thiago is the headline act but the team are not and have never been a one-man band.
While they had star players – Ivan Toney, Christian Eriksen, Mbeumo and Wissa – under Frank, they were always seen as a team more effective than the individual components.
The concern was that once the Dane left, that may not be the case, and that the collective quality of their parts alone might not be enough to avoid relegation.
As a result, appointing Andrews, with a blank managerial CV, and just a twelve months at the club was seen by those outside the club as a gamble.
A maiden role is a challenge for anyone, let alone when it comes in the world's toughest league and having made the jump from specialist coach to the top job.
But given that Ipswich Town manager one candidate was the only other option that the hierarchy looked at, they were clearly convinced they had the right man.
So far, as often seems to be the case with the key decision makers at the club, it looks as if they were vindicated.
Andrews won just a single of his first 5 league games in charge but big home victories against United, the Reds and the Magpies have followed.
Wins that, following their excellent recent form, could prove all the more important in the race for Europe.
"We are in good form and playing really good. We are playing with bravery and belief in everything we do with or without the ball," Andrews added. "We are happy with how we are going but we want to keep improving."
In a league where the European spots and the lower mid-table are currently separated by just eight points, they have no other option, because things could rapidly look very different.
But, for now, The Bees are defying the odds. And the longer that lasts, the closer to fruition those aspirations of the continent will become.
