The Brazilian marksman’s 22-goal haul and record-breaking campaign force him into the spotlight alongside Erling Haaland, capping a stunning redemption arc following an injury-plagued debut season in London.
Brentford striker Igor Thiago has been nominated for the 2025/26 EA SPORTS Premier League Player of the Season award after a superb first full campaign in English football.
The Premier League confirmed an eight-player shortlist on Thursday, with Thiago named alongside Bruno Fernandes, Gabriel, Morgan Gibbs-White, Erling Haaland, David Raya, Declan Rice and Antoine Semenyo. Fans have until 12:00 BST on Monday, May 18 to vote, with the public vote combined with a panel of football experts before the winner is announced next week.
For Thiago, the nomination is a major recognition of his impact at Brentford.
The Brazilian has scored 22 goals and provided one assist in 36 Premier League appearances so far this season, putting him firmly among the division’s leading forwards. Only Haaland, with 26 goals, sits ahead of him in the Golden Boot race.
It is also a sharp contrast with his first season in England, which was disrupted by injury and never allowed him to build any rhythm. This campaign has been different. Thiago has given Brentford a consistent penalty-box threat, a physical reference point in attack and the kind of finishing output that changes how opponents defend against Thomas Frank’s side.
Thiago’s two goals against Sunderland in January took him to 16 for the season, making him the highest-scoring Brazilian in a single Premier League campaign. That record underlines the scale of his year, not just within Brentford’s context, but within the wider history of Brazilian forwards in the competition.
Brentford needed that output more than most. The Bees went into the season having lost Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, two forwards who had carried so much of their attacking threat in recent years. That left a clear question over where the goals would come from.
Thiago has answered it.
His 22 Premier League goals have given Brentford a reliable focal point, but also something more valuable: certainty. The team’s attacking structure has often relied on quick service into the box, second balls around him and direct runs beyond him. His finishing has turned those patterns into points.
That is why his nomination carries weight. Thiago has not simply had a good scoring season in isolation. He has stepped into a forward line that had lost two major contributors and become the player Brentford could build around.
The competition for the award is strong. Haaland leads the scoring charts, Arsenal have three nominees after their title challenge, and Fernandes has produced a league-leading creative season for Manchester United. Thiago may not be the favourite, but his inclusion is a clear marker of how far he has come since an injury-hit start to life in west London.