Tomas Taecke, journalist at Belgian news outlet Het Laatste Nieuws, has given the lowdown on new Brentford centre-forward Igor Thiago after his move from Club Brugge on Wednesday.

Thiago - who stands at 6ft 2in and has won 35 aerial duels this season, ranking seventh among forward players in the Jupiler Pro League - has 30 goal involvements in all competitions this term.

And Taecke believes that, once the 22-year-old adapts to the level, he will be a real handful for Premier League defenders.

This transfer happened really quickly and came right out of the blue. When did you first learn of Brentford’s interest?

Three minutes before the announcement! Nobody knew anything. It is the first time in 15 years that I have followed the club that there has not been even the smallest rumour about the transfer - and it is the biggest one they have ever done.

Everyone was very surprised on Thursday night and it shows how well Brugge and Brentford work. It is a masterpiece how both clubs managed to keep it so quiet.

I understand they were in London last weekend to finish everything. It is the biggest transfer in our country, so it is a big, big thing.

He has scored 26 goals in all competitions so far this season, so what have you made of what you have seen from him so far?

Clubs were starting to follow him and look a bit deeper because he has scored 18 goals in his last 15 games. Brugge paid €8 million for him, which is a decent amount in Belgium for a new, main striker.

But, before he started scoring regularly, he started slowly and we didn't necessarily believe he was going to be the main man for them.

Brugge urged fans to give him time because of where he had come from - he was still young and had to adapt to the Belgian league, which is much better than the Bulgarian league - and then he just started scoring and playing better.

He looked slightly shaky when he first arrived, but now he is so powerful and strong on the ball. I think it was a bit of a mental thing as well.

He has developed very well. He is a very humble guy and always happy, so there are not many bad things to say; it is all positive.

Given what you have said about the way he has developed so quickly, would you say there is a lot of room for that to continue in the Premier League?

For him, I think it is just a question of picking up the level. He has the qualities, but it took some time to make the step up in Belgium and, for sure, this will be the same in the Premier League.

It is a good thing that he will be there from day one and is not coming over in the winter, so the preparation will be good for him.

We have four more games in our regular season and then we go into the play-offs, and Brugge also have a Belgian Cup semi-final against Union SG, as well as still being in the Conference League.

Let’s say they play 20 more games this season, there will be 17 or 18 top games, and there he can maybe take the next step and potentially get even better before he joins Brentford.

What are his strengths as a striker?

He is very strong and not nice for defenders. He goes for every ball and manages to recover balls that you do not see him getting to.

He puts a lot of pressure on defences and is also pretty good at keeping the ball, which he is also getting better at. He can go deep and is a runner, looking for the spaces and taking them.

What he is very good at is being in the right place at the right time, attacking balls, and he also takes penalties. He is a pretty complete striker in most aspects, with a high ceiling.

How would you describe his character?

I spoke to him in Marbella a month ago and he told me about his story, growing up in Brazil. It was very touching.

He had a very difficult upbringing, without any resources. His father died when he was 13, so he used to work as a kid to provide for his family, which shaped his character.

When he was a little kid, he played football in his town, in something like a social project, and he is still helping them today, sending them balls and shirts and things like that.

It probably goes without saying, but does he have ambitions of playing for Brazil in the future?

In December, he was called up by the Brazil Under-23s for a qualification tournament for the Olympics, but Brugge rejected it.

The club talked to him and explained that, if it was the Africa Cup of Nations or the Asian Cup, he could have gone, but they did not want to let him go to a qualifying tournament because they needed him too much and they had a few big games when they restarted in January. Of course, it was disappointing for him, but he understood.

In Brazil, more than in other countries, it is massive for players to be called up for the national team. He has said it is his biggest dream to play for the Seleção.

From what you have said, it seems Brentford fans might have to be patient at the start, but it will be worth it in the end. Would you agree?

Yes. I think it will be similar to when he came here. I remember, after a few weeks, I wrote a story that said we had to be patient with him, given where he came from and also the language barrier.

The moment he starts feeling well, adapts to the level, and starts scoring, he will be okay.