Sepp van den Berg

Key strength: Aerial dominance

Defensive anchor

In a Brentford season oscillating between promise and frustration—8th in the Premier League but winless in three—the Bees have unearthed their defensive cornerstone. Sepp van den Berg, the 24-year-old Dutch centre-back, has emerged as Thomas Frank's most trusted lieutenant, logging a staggering 1,620 minutes across 19 league appearances. While his stat sheet reads modestly at 0 goals and 1 assist, his €32 million market value tells the real story. The 1.92m former Liverpool prospect—hardened by loan spells at Preston and Schalke—has displaced established names like Nathan Collins to anchor Brentford's backline with aerial authority and remarkable discipline, collecting just two yellow cards all campaign. In a patchy run yielding just one win from five (DDLWL), van den Berg's ever-present reliability offers the defensive bedrock upon which any European push must be built. He doesn't chase headlines; he simply ensures the opposition doesn't write theirs.