The first thing that will catch your eye when watching Rico Henry is his sheer pace.

And, since joining the Bees, Henry has gone head-to-head with some of the best wingers in the world - but not many of those have beaten him for speed.

In an interview for Saturday's match programme, which is now available at shop.brentfordfc.com, Henry reveals who gave him the closest test when it comes to a foot race...

“[Adama] Traore was so quick off the mark, so he’d be up there,” the defender told club journalist Adam Goodwin.

“When I played against [Bright-Osayi] Samuel in the Championship when he was at QPR, he was quick - long strides, powerful - similar to Traore, the way he could accelerate.”

When asked about his toughest test since Brentford won promotion to the top flight, Henry mentioned Traore again and added: “The power he has is ridiculous. Not just when he’s running at you, it’s even from throw-ins and corners, he’ll pin you as well.

“He's got pace and strength and, when you put those two together, it's hard to deal with. He’s so direct as well, he just wants to get the ball and run at you.

“It was harder as well because he was oiled up with a tight top on - I couldn’t get hold of him!

“Playing against players like him is difficult, but I back myself - it’s a good test. Especially when he comes off the bench in like the 70th minute and your legs are gone!”

While Henry believes that he would finish in the “top five” of a Premier League 100m race, there was recently some discussion about whether he was even the quickest player at Brentford, after the loan addition of forward Kevin Schade in January.

The German registered the seventh-fastest speed (22.6 mph) in Bundesliga history in the first half of Freiburg’s 3-1 win at home to Greuther Furth in October 2021.

But Henry did beat Schade in a recent short-distance sprinting session and would be keen to have a proper race with his team-mate, along with a couple of the other speedy players in the squad.

The left-back recalled: "We had a race in the warm-up - you had to get around the cone and sprint forward and I managed to beat him. That's the only little race we've had, but Kevin's so quick off the mark.

“We haven’t had a proper race yet, but I think I’d have him. It would be a good race. Throw Bryan [Mbeumo] in there as well, maybe even Kris Ajer - he’s quick.”

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Also included in your Brentford v Leicester City match programme

  • Thomas Frank shares his thoughts ahead of our clash with the Foxes

  • Big Ben Burgess’ Big Match Preview

  • Jordan Blackwell, Leicester City reporter for Leicestershire Live, discusses the east Midlanders' recent form, Brendan Rodgers' likely set-up and the key man to look out for in Hot off the Press

  • Our next King of the Castle is Danis Salman, the club's youngest-ever league debutant who was inducted into the Brentford Hall of Fame in November 2014. Salman is one of only 15 players to have made more than 300 appearances for the Bees since the club joined the Football League

  • The Nathan Caton Column

  • Brentford B assistant coach and former Bees midfielder Sam Saunders is now in his fourth season working with the B team alongside Neil MacFarlane. He spoke with Ben Strange about the B team’s 2022/23 campaign. Highlights include matches in Italy, Monaco, the Netherlands and Portugal, as well as first-team debuts for Ryan Trevitt and Yehor Yarmoliuk

  • Last month, Brentford launched its 2023/24 season ticket campaign. The accompanying video captures the togetherness of all those associated with the club - both on and off the pitch. Take a look behind the scenes of this year's shoot in Viewfinder

Printed locally using sustainable materials, this 100-page issue is available online and around the Gtech Community Stadium for £4.

Available inside and outside the ground – as well as from the Bees Merchandise Kiosk and the Bees Superstore – our sellers will be accepting contactless payments only.

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Programmes are available after the game from the Bees Merchandise Kiosk and the Bees Superstore (Lionel Road South).

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