Why Jaidon Anthony signing marks a new chapter for Brentford

After Brentford’s 6-1 hammering of Birmingham City in the Carabao Cup second round, Keith Andrews praised his side’s strength in depth.In Andrews’ mind, there is very little distinction between those who started the 3-0 win over Tottenham last weekend and the players who took to the field at St Andrews on Tuesday evening. “There is a huge narrative around cup games with coaches making changes, but with the squad we have, there are fine margins between who plays and doesn't play,” Andrews said post-match against Birmingham.Brentford have continually defied expectations since promotion to the Premier League, doing so once again last season as they came agonisingly close to qualifying for Europe despite widely being tipped for relegation ahead of Andrews’ first season in charge.Last season, their European ambitions partly failed to materialise due to a lack of depth in the squad. Only Manchester City (2) scored fewer goals off the bench than Brentford (3).That was an issue Brentford were determined to address this summer and they did so by bringing in Jaidon Anthony from Burnley and Callum Wilson from West Ham. Jaidon Anthony and Callum WilsonPAThe pair started for the first time in a Brentford shirt against Birmingham and quickly set about displaying their quality. Read MoreWilson, who remains one of England’s sharpest finishers at 34 years old, opened the scoring inside six minutes before Anthony stole the show with a hat-trick of assists as Brentford romped to another resounding victory. Wilson provides experience, natural goalscoring instincts, and perhaps most importantly is still chomping at the bit as he closes in on 100 Premier League goals. It is Anthony, though, whose impact will be most keenly felt this season. Where last season Brentford struggled to rely on the form and fitness of loanee Reiss Nelson, they now have a player in Anthony who will feel he can realistically challenge for regular first-team minutes. Efficiency in the final third is an underrated trait and Anthony, who produced eight league goals and four assists, has it in abundance. Anthony will push Ouattara where Nelson failed to do so last seasonThree crosses from the right wing produced three second-half goals and he could easily have added another assist had fellow summer signing Jannik Schuster not headed wide from his clipped delivery. Anthony’s performance will no doubt have caught the eye. No player created more chances (4), competed more dribbles (3), or took more touches in the opposition box (7) than the 26-year-old. If Brentford are to sustain their push for European qualification this season, they will look to Anthony to keep Dango Ouatarra on his toes. Ouatarra enjoyed a productive debut season in west London, producing seven goals and eight assists in 32 Premier League appearances last year. But a three-month goalless drought between February and May will have caused some concern, with Brentford winning just twice in the 11 games during that period. Anthony will push Ouattara where Nelson failed to do so last season and as Andrews alluded to in his post-match comments against Birmingham, almost every spot is up for grabs with competition high.