Brentford Manager: Why We Changed Our Mind On Frank Onyeka

Brentford manager Thomas Frank has explained why midfielder Frank Onyeka was retained at the club despite initial plans to farm him out.

Megasportsarena.com reports that midfielder Onyeka was expected to go on loan to Middlesbrough before the close of the summer transfer window but a last minute change of heart by the gaffer stopped the move.

The coach opened up that an injury to Christian Norgaard, who is set to miss a number of weeks with an Achilles problem, scuppered the move.

And Frank says Onyeka, who made 20 Premier League appearances for the Bees after joining the club last summer, could now be given more of an opportunity following the injury to Norgaard.

“We are big believers in having a squad which is not too small or not too big. What that exact number is, I don’t know,” Frank said.

“If you have too many then you will have too many unhappy players because they need to see an opportunity to play. Now the dynamic has changed with, in this case, Christian’s injury.

“We couldn’t take the risk so we needed to keep Frank.

“Frank has trained fantastically in all the games. Things move quick in football. Two weeks ago, Zanka wasn’t even in the squad and now he’s playing.

“You just need to be ready and to Frank’s credit, he’s done very well in training.”