When Mark Flekken joined Brentford in the summer, it was his clean sheet stats that grabbed the attention - but it is already evident that he offers more than an enviable tendency to shut out opponents.

Flekken moved to west London from Freiburg having kept more clean sheets (22) than any goalkeeper in the Bundesliga over the previous two seasons, and he already has one for Thomas Frank’s side courtesy of the Bees’ 3-0 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage in August.

However, the elements of Flekken's game that really stood out during Saturday's pulsating 2-2 draw with Bournemouth at Gtech Community Stadium were his composure in possession and his distribution.

The Bees enjoyed a dominant 61 per cent of the ball, completing 484 passes compared to the Cherries' 310, and their Dutch goalkeeper caught the eye with his ability to comfortably receive the ball and play through the visitors' press.

In fact, a quick glance at Saturday's match numbers confirms that Flekken took more touches (61) than any Bournemouth player during the match; Ethan Pinnock (67) and Christian Norgaard (62) the only players on the pitch to complete more passes than Brentford's no.1 (53).

13 of Flekken's successful passes at the weekend were long balls, and he currently leads the top flight in this stat category for 2023/24 with 40 in total, which further illustrates his passing range and ability to mix up his distribution.

With David Raya destined to leave this summer, Brentford acted fast to secure Flekken's services and a closer look at his stats in the Bundesliga reveal that his long game is a real strength - only six players across UEFA's top five leagues (Raya among them) completing more long passes than Flekken (329) last season.

As was evident against Andoni Iraola's side on Saturday, Flekken is more than happy to ping the ball around at the back too, and he has only misplaced one of the 101 short passes he has played this season.

In this context, it is interesting to note that Flekken does not appear prone to straying outside his 18-yard box; the 30-year-old the only goalkeeper yet to complete a defensive action outside their penalty area in the Premier League this term.

Despite Brentford laying siege to the visitors' goal at times (the Bees took 21 shots and hit the woodwork three times against Bournemouth), Flekken also made several smart saves against the Cherries on Saturday to showcase his shot-stopping credentials, although he will no doubt study Dominic Solanke's near-post strike for the visitors’ opener.

All in all, it was a positive afternoon's work between the sticks for the Dutchman and the early signs are that Brentford's astute recruitment process has once again paid off.