Thomas Frank: Brentford’s Mikkel Damsgaard is finally delivering on potential

Brentford manager Thomas Frank believes Mikkel Damsgaard is finally delivering on the potential that persuaded the club to sign him from Sampdoria.

The Denmark international was central to the Bees’ 5-3 victory against Wolves at the Gtech Stadium on Saturday, setting up two of his team’s goals and giving a commanding display in the number 10 role as Brentford moved into the top half of the Premier League table.

The 24-year-old missed a large chunk of last season with injuries to his adductor and knee but has started five of the team’s seven league games this campaign and is finding form.

“Damsgaard, it was his fourth or fifth start,” said Frank. “He was running the game in many ways. Two good assists, two goal involvements.

“So happy that we see some of that promising sign where he did fantastic one summer in the Euros in 2021, he’s back to a level where (we see) there’s something in this boy.”

Damsgaard came to international attention during Denmark’s run to the semi-finals of Euro 2020, scoring with a sensational free-kick against England at Wembley.

Shortly afterwards he suffered a thigh injury and missed six months of the Serie A season, playing only 11 more times for Sampdoria before leaving for west London in the summer of 2022.

Frank said he believes the player has come back stronger and more ready to succeed in a Brentford shirt after another disrupted campaign last term.

“Maybe (he is showing) a little bit more bite in terms of training and will power and all that that you need,” said Frank.

“I think also he needed that run of games where you play and you know you’ll play the next one, and probably also the next one. Then your confidence is growing.

“The first time he did that I think was in the first year (2022-23), he played four or five games in a row, but he was not physically fit enough to take that because he’d been out for a year.

“Last year he was unlucky with injury the first four, five months. Then he came into the team and clearly was struggling. Maybe we needed him and he was not fit, so he never really had that run of games.”

It was from Damsgaard’s cross that Nathan Collins headed Brentford in front in the second minute against winless Wolves, who stayed bottom, whilst he also delivered the corner from which Ethan Pinnock scored the team’s fourth goal.

“Now I think he’s showing more what he’s capable of, but we need more always,” said Frank. “He needs to consistently deliver.

“No doubt about it, he trusts in himself, he gets trust from us and he’s performing.”