Benham: Brentford missed bargain deals for Olise, Eze, Marmoush and Mudryk

Brentford owner Matthew Benham told the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Boston how the club nearly signed several players who later became stars, highlighting Michael Olise in particular. He praised Olise’s scouting as "unbelievable, out of this world" but said the club "weren't used to the crazy agent fees in the Premier League" and that "the agent fee for that one was so insanely high that we stepped away." Benham also recalled identifying Eberechi Eze while he was at Queens Park Rangers and tracking Omar Marmoush before their big moves.

He said the club could have signed Eze for about £4m in 2019 and that Marmoush could have come on a free, adding that the pair could have been signed "for about £4m combined." The pursuit of Mykhailo Mudryk proved complicated.

brentford, matthew benham, michael olise, eberechi eze, omar marmoush, mykhailo mudryk, agent fees, premier league, scouting, mit sloan