Last month, Brentford completed the signing of goalkeeper Mark Flekken from Bundesliga side Freiburg.

The Netherlands international kept 13 clean sheets in 34 Bundesliga matches during the 2022/23 campaign - the highest tally in the division - as Freiburg finished fifth. We spoke with German football expert Raphael Honigstein to find out more about the Bees’ new shot-stopper.

Mark Flekken joins Brentford following a superb season in the Bundesliga. How impressed were you by his performances?

He was very solid and one of the reasons why Freiburg were so tough to beat. They’re not always the prettiest of sides but they’re very solid and very hardworking.

In Flekken they had a goalkeeper who’s not just great on the line, but really useful with his feet. I think that’s one of the reasons why Brentford were so keen on him.

Flekken was easily one of the best ball-playing keepers in the Bundesliga last season and that explains why he was called up by the Dutch national team.

Louis van Gaal described him as the “perfect keeper”. He’s a bit in the vein of Edwin van der Sar, who should be seen as one of the pioneers of that very active, very cultured goalkeeper who almost plays as a defender in possession. Flekken does that very well.

As you’ve touched upon, Flekken's distribution is one of the standout elements of his game. Last season he played the second-most launched passes in the Bundesliga (passes longer than 40 yards), completing 271, and had the sixth-highest defensive actions outside the penalty area (43). He should fit into Brentford’s system very well, shouldn’t he?

Flekken has been bought with a very specific role in mind - he has all the characteristics Brentford would have been looking for. I’m sure that’s been tested both in scouting and the data.

Even to the more casual observer it was clear that Flekken was one of the best players in his position in the Bundesliga last season. The Bundesliga always produces good goalkeepers, or brings in good goalkeepers in this case, as Flekken grew up just the other side of the Dutch border. He speaks and behaves like a German having had so many years there.

He really stood out, both in terms of his presence and his overall performances.

Flekken was playing in the German third tier as recently as 2016. When did he first come onto your radar as someone who had the ability to play at the top level?

To be perfectly honest, only really at Freiburg over the last few years; before that he was at Duisburg in the second division, and he was behind [Alexander] Schwolow at Freiburg before he moved on.

He became a regular when he was given the chance and really excelled. I’m not sure we can call him a late developer, but it took some time for that journey to come to fruition. Sometimes when it happens this way, an organic way, players are perhaps more ready for the opportunity.

He’s so level-headed. All the cliches about goalkeepers being slightly impulsive and crazy don’t apply to him; he’s super calm, very down to earth and well spoken. He’s charismatic without being overbearing. He’s a model professional.

He’s come on tremendously and no one in Germany bat an eyelid when the deal was announced. He’s a great player and a move to the Premier League is a deserved reward for what he’s done so far.

What was your reaction to Flekken’s transfer to Brentford? Given that he has been playing at the top end of the Bundesliga in recent seasons, as well as the Europa League, this feels like a real coup for the Bees…

Undoubtedly. If Flekken had stayed at Freiburg for one more season and showed his talents not just domestically but during another international campaign, I think more clubs would have wised up to his potential.

Even in the Bundesliga, there might be one or two clubs above Freiburg who will be looking for a keeper before too long, Bayern [Munich] perhaps being one of them, and he would be the sort of player that they would have looked at, there’s no doubt about that.

So I think Brentford have once again been super smart and ahead of the curve, and I’m sure this is going to work out really well for him and the club.

The Premier League can provide a culture shock for foreign players, particularly goalkeepers. Do you think Flekken will require time to adapt to English football?

I have very few worries or doubts. Of course he’ll need to adjust, like all German keepers have had to do, specifically with regards to the lack of protection in the six-yard box.

Keepers in the Bundesliga tend to get a lot of fouls blown when somebody as much as touches them in the six-yard box, and this is definitely not the case in the Premier League!

I remember speaking with Jens Lehman when he was at Arsenal, and it took him a long time to get his head around the fact that keepers just don’t have the same level of protection. Since then, players have become a lot more aware of how the Premier League is refereed and what kind of requirements exist there, and I’m sure that Flekken will have done his homework. He has got the physique and the personality to thrive in these types of situations.

Flekken’s quite an active goalkeeper who’s not afraid to come off his line, and that includes latching onto balls when they come in from crosses. He’s also not afraid to come out and play with the ball at his feet. He has all the attributes needed to succeed at Brentford.

Finally, how is Flekken likely to fit into Brentford’s dressing room dynamic?

I don’t think there will be any problems. I’m sure he’s not going to try and be hugely vocal in the dressing room in the first few weeks or so, as you’d expect from someone who’s just come in from abroad, but his English is very good having grown up in the Netherlands and spent time in Germany.

At Freiburg there is a very big emphasis on having good characters in the dressing room and great togetherness, and that will help him gel and strike up those relationships at Brentford. Freiburg are very keen on having the right characters as well as the right players, and I’m sure Brentford will have done their scouting off the pitch as well as on it.

I think Flekken will find his feet very quickly and become a valuable member of the team and the club. He’ll also connect with the wider Brentford community. People will warm to him quickly because he’s a very likeable guy.