Nathan Collins hailed Brentford’s “madman” Neal Maupay after the striker finally ended his long goal drought, and believes game-changer Bryan Mbeumo can get even better.
Maupay scored the opening goal before Collins headed a second-half winner as Brentford confirmed their early season blip as a thing of the past with a 3-2 victory over West Ham on Saturday, their third on the bounce in the Premier League.
The forward had gone 34 matches and almost 14 months since his one and only goal for Everton, that also coming against the Hammers in September last year and was mobbed by teammates after finishing Frank Onyeka’s miscue from close range.
“Neal is a madman,” Collins laughed. “He’s one of the most unpredictable people ever. He’s crazy. But no, we’re all buzzing for him. What a guy. He’d go through a brick wall for you.”
“It’s hard,” the defender added, asked about the team’s role in rallying around Maupay during his struggle for form. “A lot of that self confidence is from yourself. We can only do so much. He gets on so well with us, he can talk to anyone. That’s the connection we all have here. We all really get on, we all like each other.”
Maupay’s goal, given its rarity, made understandable headlines, but Mbeumo was once again the star of the show for the home side, his cross forcing Konstantinos Mavropanos’ own-goal, which levelled the score at 2-2 after half-time. Tasked with filling the void left by Ivan Toney’s suspension, the Cameroonian has made an outstanding start to the campaign and Collins believes there is more to come.
“Bryan shows his quality in every game, week-in and week-out,” he said. "He’s some talent. You have to keep letting him express himself and enjoying his football, that’s the main thing for him. We all know how good he is. His standard could go through the roof again.
"He changes games and he makes something out of nothing. To have someone like that in your team is unbelievable. It changes everything for you. He’s some player, honestly top class.”
