Nathan Collins signed off last season telling Brentford fans he couldn't wait for the next one... and his displays thus far in 2024/25 are indisputable proof that he wasn't lying!
In an Instagram post last May, the Irishman classed 2023/24 as “a season with lots of ups and downs but plenty of good moments”, and it was a fair summary of his maiden campaign in west London.
The Bees were savaged by injuries at the back, Collins himself missing a month of football with an ankle injury, and Thomas Frank's side struggled to find defensive consistency throughout a testing Premier League campaign.
Not long after his return from injury, Collins suffered something of a Christmas nightmare in a 4-1 defeat against former club Wolves last December and the composed centre-back had to fight to reestablish himself at the heart of Brentford's defence.
Collins' rock-solid temperament saw him shrug off those issues with form and fitness to establish himself as a key man last term and - now captain of his country at the tender age of 23 - the defender’s game has hit another level in 2024/25.
Although Bryan Mbeumo's razor-sharp start probably earns him the tag of Brentford's best player 10 games into the Premier League season, Collins has arguably been just as important to the Bees, who sit 12th in the top flight after a gut-wrenching defeat to Fulham at Craven Cottage on Monday night.
Collins started the season with a bang and topped a raft of statistics for the Bees in their opening day win over Crystal Palace before delivering an outstanding display against Arne Slot's new-look Liverpool; the 23-year-old's composure, passing ability and defensive nous all to the fore during a 2-0 reverse at Anfield.
As his head coach Frank has stated, Collins has "been going from a good performance to another good performance" this season and his statistics across the board make for impressive reading.
Blocking shots is something of an art form at the highest level, and Collins has the rare gift of anticipating when strikers are going to pull the trigger, in addition to the timing (and telescopic limbs!) necessary to divert goal-bound efforts away from their intended target.
Currently, Collins leads the top flight for shots blocked, with 20, and he also ranks fifth in the entire division for aerials won (32) and 11th for clearances made (45).
Already with a goal to his name in Brentford's 5-3 win over Wolves this season, Collins is also proving a handful in the opposition's box and he currently ranks fifth out of Premier League centre-backs for shots on goal (9).
Interestingly, Collins is also essential to the Bees in possession. Despite missing six games in 2023/24, Collins topped the passing charts for Brentford in his first campaign and he is again out front this season: currently the only player in the west Londoners' squad to complete 500+ accurate passes.
Outstanding again in defeat to Fulham, Collins' average ranking of 7/10 puts him comfortably inside Playmaker's top 50 Premier League performers this season and he will no doubt be key as Brentford look to return to winning ways this Saturday when they host Bournemouth at Gtech Community Stadium.