The forward signed for the London club from Belgian side Brugge for £30m in the summer of 2024.
More than the midpoint of the campaign, Brentford are in fantasy land.
With four wins in five games, and a Brazilian striker netting the goals, suddenly Bees fans find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.
A convincing three-nil win over the Black Cats moved their manager's side into the fifth spot in the Premier League – a place that was good enough to secure Champions League football last season.
Only leaders Arsenal have gathered more points over the past six games.
There is a significant distance to go yet but Brentford are firmly in the fight for continental football.
No one was forecasting this last summer.
The former head coach had departed for Spurs after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only got the club to the Premier League but also cemented them in the elite division.
Skipper their Danish midfielder left for the North London club and goal-scoring duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a combined of 39 goals in 2024-25 – were out the door, joining United and Newcastle United respectively.
Specialist coach Keith Andrews was elevated to succeed Frank, while there was no striker among the off-season arrivals.
A season of difficulty, possibly even the drop, was forecast. Yet here we are in January with the club in the upper echelons.
So, how have they managed it?
The Brazilian's Record-breaking Campaign
The club's decision not to bring in another striker was in part down to circumstance, with Wissa's move not going through until deadline day.
But they also knew they had a £30 million striker already waiting to go.
Igor Thiago joined from Belgium in July 2024 for a then club record fee, but was hindered by injury in his first campaign, going without a goal in eight appearances.
The 24-year-old has gone about compensating for lost time this season, though, with his double against the Wearside club taking him to sixteen league goals – the most by a player from Brazil in a single English top-flight campaign.
Considering the fellow Brazilians who have preceded him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with 17 games remaining.
"He's been a breath of fresh air," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He's physically intimidating, quick, powerful, but more skilled than people think. Good with his feet, either foot, he can score with both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. These numbers are fantastic. He must be so pleased. 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 highlights the standard he is operating at.
And it is not just the quantity but the timing of the goals that have been so pivotal for his team.
His first goal against the opposition was his 7th opener of the season. Considering how often we are told the importance of the first goal in a game, having someone you can rely on to take that early opportunity cannot be overstated.
Before the game against their opponents, no player to have attempted at least thirty efforts this season has a better shot accuracy rate than the striker's 59.1 percent.
He hits the target. Achieve that often enough and the goals will – and have – come.
Considering the hardships he had earlier in life, where he worked as a bricklayer to provide for his family following the passing of his father, perhaps it should be unsurprising that pressure on the pitch is something he takes in his stride.
"Our scouts deserve a lot of praise for the kind of players they bring in and characters," Andrews said. "This is really impressive. He is a really special person who has adapted to life very nicely. He has had to forge this path. He has worked for his journey and grafted. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is developing his abilities constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a pretty all-round centre-forward."
The Manager Showing Doubters Incorrect
Igor Thiago is the headline act but Brentford are not and have never been a single-player team.
While they had star players – a host of talent – under Frank, they were always seen as a team more effective than the individual components.
The fear was that once the manager left, that may not be the case, and that the sum of their parts alone might not be enough to avoid relegation.
Consequently, appointing Andrews, with no previous managerial experience, 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 set-piece coach to the top job.
But given that Ipswich Town manager one candidate was the only other option that Brentford looked at, they were clearly confident they had the correct candidate.
So far, as often seems to be the case with the brains trust at Brentford, it looks as if they were vindicated.
Andrews won just a single of his first 5 league games in charge but significant home victories against United, Liverpool and Newcastle have followed.
Wins that, following their excellent recent run, could prove all the more important in the race for European qualification.
"We are in good form and playing really good. We are playing with courage and conviction in everything we do with and without the ball," he added. "We're happy with how we are going but we want to keep striving."
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, Brentford are beating the odds. And the longer that continues, the closer to fruition those aspirations of Europe will become.
