Brentford have completed the signing of Nigeria international midfield player Frank Onyeka, subject to international clearance. A work permit for the 23-year-old was received at the weekend and he has completed a medical. Frank will join from FC Midtjylland, where Brentford FC Owner Matthew Benham has the majority shareholding, for an undisclosed fee and has signed a five-year contract. He arrived in the UK yesterday, Monday 19 July, and will now undergo a period of quarantine before joining with the squad for training.

Frank has spent his entire professional career with FCM, as they are known, and has been a regular for them in the Danish Superliga for most of the past four seasons. He arrived in Denmark as an 18-year-old from FC Ebedei, a Nigerian club with links to FCM. He progressed to the First Team and made his breakthrough in the 2017/18 season.

Frank was part of the FCM side that won the Superliga in 2017/18, playing 15 games. He helped them win the title again in 2019/20 and the Danish Cup in 2019. Frank played in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League for FCM, and leaves Denmark having made 123 appearances and scored 17 goals.

Thomas Frank, Brentford FC Head Coach, said: “I am looking forward to getting Frank in the building. We think he is a strong addition to the squad, and we are looking forward to working with him. He is a very dynamic player.

“Frank plays as an eight in our system, he is very good at getting from box to box and will be valuable to us when we don’t have the ball. He has come from the Danish league and was one of the best midfield players in that league, we think he has the potential to develop further. All the coaches here are looking forward to working with Frank and pushing him to a higher level.”

Rasmus Ankersen, Brentford FC Co-Director of Football, added: “Frank Onyeka is a player we, for obvious reasons, know very well. Over the last two years he has grown to become the dominant midfielder in the Danish league and his performances in the Champions League last season convinced us that he is ready for the Premier League. With his pace, power and ability to win the ball I am sure Frank will be a great addition to the Brentford squad."

Frank received his first Nigeria call-up last season. He was selected for friendly matches last October and made his international debut against Algeria, his only appearance for his country to date. It is a busy year or so upcoming for Nigeria with an upcoming Africa Cup of Nations scheduled to start in January 2022 and the final stages qualification for the FIFA World Cup 2022, to be played in Qatar next November in December, set to start in September.