Onyeka claims Europe can Bee a possibility for Brentford

Frank Onyeka wants to bring European nights to Brentford and believes it is more than achievable under Thomas Frank.

Onyeka, 25, played a key role as the Bees finished ninth in the Premier League last term — a record for the club.

The Nigerian midfielder, who arrived following their promotion in 2021, got a taste of Champions League football at former side Midtjylland and sees no reason why Brentford cannot aim for similar.

Onyeka told LiveScore: "I'd love to play Champions League again.

"And I think as a club, we can play in Europe. I think that's what we aim for as well.

"So it would be nice to play Champions League with Brentford.

"How long do you think that will take? I don't know, you tell me! But we'll see."

Part of the plan

Brentford reaching the lofty heights of ninth in 2022-23 may have come as a surprise to some, with it only being their second campaign as a Premier League club.

But Onyeka insists Frank's men were always convinced a top-half finish was achievable, with the Danish boss instilling a belief they can beat any team in the division.

He added: "We wanted to finish in the top half of the table. So finishing ninth is something we expected.

"We were very happy with how we finished last season. This season the aim is to go a bit better.

"He [Frank] always put that belief in us that we can go anywhere and win. That's why we got some good results last season against big teams.

"And I think we can also do that this season as well."

Upsetting the elite

Brentford beat some of the Premier League's biggest teams last term — including a surprise double over Manchester City and a win at Chelsea, who they face on Saturday lunchtime.

And while they have struggled so far this season, with just two wins from nine games, Onyeka is confident the Bees can trouble Mauricio Pochettino's men.

He said: "Obviously, we know how good they are. They have some really good, quality players.

"But we always believe we can go to every ground to come up with the win and I think that's what we're going there to do as well.

"We like playing against the big teams. We need to be on top to get a good result because we're going to get punished if we lack anything."

More to come

Brentford are currently 14th but Onyeka believes last weekend's 3-0 victory over Burnley can be a springboard to climb the table.

The 14-cap international said: "It's maybe not the start we wanted. But as a club, as players, we need to keep going.

"We got the win last week and we hope for another win this week."

The Super Eagles star is also encouraged by how Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa — who have eight goals between them this term — have stepped up in the absence of last season's top scorer Ivan Toney.

Onyeka added: "It's good because when you see someone out, someone else needs to fill the space and the other guys have done really well. 

"As a club we have these options that when someone is not in they can pick up from where they left it and just keep on going."