On Tuesday 4 July, Brentford confirmed the transfer of Nathan Collins from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

We sat down with Liam Keen, Wolves correspondent for the Express and Star, to get the lowdown on the Bees’ second first-team signing of the summer.

Nathan Collins signed for Wolves from Burnley last summer and played 31 times in all competitions in his first and only season at Molineux. What did you make of his performances during the 2022/23 campaign?

Collins is a player who has a lot of promise, as far as I’m concerned.

He is definitely not the finished article, but he is someone who will go on to do really good things in the game, which is why I was a bit disappointed to see him leave.

Wolves were okay at the start of the season and very quickly took a downturn and the players’ performances suffered because of that. Overall, Collins’ performances were good to start with, then took a bit of a dip and, ultimately, the signing of Craig Dawson and Julen Lopetegui’s appointment meant he dropped out of the team.

Collins showed plenty in those first few months to indicate there is a very good player there and, off the pitch, he was pretty important in the dressing room, despite being only 22.

He did not throw his toys out of the pram when he had the opportunity to do so; when he was not playing, he kept trying to give his best for the fans and I think that was appreciated.

Other than having the desired height and physique for a centre-back, what would you say Collins’ strengths are?

He is good in the air and I actually think he could have done a lot more in a Wolves shirt, offensively and defensively, in the air during his time there.

When you look at his time at Burnley and at some of the goals he has scored for Ireland, you can see that is a strength of his.

He is a natural defender with very good instincts, awareness and positioning.

He could improve with the ball at his feet; I do not think he is particularly bad at it, but I just think there were times last season – particularly when Wolves were under the cosh a little bit – when he showed there was something to work on.

Would you say he is necessarily more suited to playing in either a back three or a back four?

We only really saw him with Wolves in a four and he fits perfectly fine there, but I absolutely think he could work in a three, too.

He played right-back briefly during his time at Stoke, and he played on the right side of a back three once at Wolves, but it was a change in formation near the end of a game and not a regular thing for him. He is very much a right-sided defender.

He is not the quickest centre-half you will find, but he is no slouch and is still athletic for his frame and size.

You said you were somewhat disappointed to see him leave the club, but how did the Wolves fans react to his departure?

The reaction has been mixed. At the moment, they are frustrated at losing Ruben Neves and Collins, as players are only leaving the club rather than coming in.

The response is more a reflection of the frustration at not making signings and less a reflection on Collins as player and a person.

What I saw in Collins is a player who is still young and still raw, but has shown the natural instincts and qualities you want for a defender of his age.

He has put in some really good performances over his two top-flight seasons with Burnley and Wolves and there is a reason why so many clubs were interested in him this summer and why so many clubs probably still have him on their radar.

He has probably got top-six potential, though it is likely a few years away yet. A lot of fans did appreciate that and realise they were only selling a player for a little bit more than they bought him for.

The sell-on fee will hopefully help in the future, but, in the short term, unfortunately, Wolves need to bring some money in before they can bring some players in, and the deal was right.

"Chance creation begins at the back" - Nathan Collins' first interview as a Brentford player

If he goes straight into the Brentford team, how much is he going to develop with regular first-team action?

To be fair to Brentford, they are a club similar to Brighton who do not make many bad signings and the reason they wanted a player like him is because he is more than capable of going straight into the starting XI and performing.

I agree with Thomas Frank’s quotes that he is a player with leadership qualities and you can see him being Ireland’s captain in the future.

Collins is the kind of player that, despite his age, tries to galvanise the dressing room, but I also do think he is a player who needs to have a manager’s faith in him and a run of games in the side, even if it does not go well for a game or two. If he has that at Brentford, he will absolutely go on and have a really good time with the club and probably move on at some point to another bigger club because he has that potential to realise.

Brentford’s recruitment policy is as much about the talent and potential of a player as it is their character. What have you found Collins to be like in that respect?

I interviewed him about half a dozen times over the season and I’ve got zero complaints.

You can sometimes see him walking through the mixed zone looking really upset and miserable after a loss, which is natural for many players. Regardless, every time I stopped him for a chat or interacted with him in any way, he was always positive and generous with his time.

He is just a genuinely nice young man, who has high standards of himself and tries to reflect that in the way he conducts himself and the way he addresses other people.

As a journalist covering Wolves, not only do I think Collins is a player they will regret losing in the future - albeit in the short term, it is a good move for them – but to lose the chance to work with him is a disappointment on my part as he's a great lad.

Brentford have got a player who will be really good on the pitch and in the dressing room and around the training ground will be a big part of the culture.