Brentford have a lot to play for in the Championship still. 

Thomas Frank's dream of automatic promotion looks to be slipping away following last night's results, with Brentford drawing with Cardiff City and Watford strengthening their hold on second by beating Norwich City.

However, there's the play-offs to fall back on and Frank will be hoping that his side can go a step further in that competition after 2019/20's disappointment.

 

 

Focus at Brentford cannot afford to slip from the play-offs, but failure to win promotion to the Premier League is going to leave them in a precarious position once more in the transfer window.

With that in mind, we've opted to look at TWO scenarios the club will not want to find themselves in during the summer...

Without a Rico Henry replacement 

It looks increasingly likely that Henry will have Premier League clubs chasing his signature this summer if Brentford fail to win promotion.

Reports are already suggesting that Southampton have an eye on him and, if Brentford are facing up to another year in the Championship, they can probably wave goodbye to their chance of keeping the left-back.

However, the club have to react to that, which is easier said than done.

Talented left-backs are not easy to come by, but if Henry leaves, he will leave behind a real void in this Brentford squad.

That's got to be filled by someone, and the task that Frank will have is ensuring that the quality isn't lost either. That's really tough to do.

Not getting Toney's asking price 

One thing you can say about Brentford is that they always seem to get value for money when it comes to their players moving up to the Premier League. That was the case with Ollie Watkins and Said Benrahma last summer and, you'd imagine, it will be the same again with Ivan Toney if they fail to secure promotion.

Toney has scored 29 goals this season and registered 10 assists, proving to be a Premier League player in waiting.

Football League World understand that Toney's asking price is £35m, which seems steep, but when you consider Watkins' price, it's maybe reasonable given he's outperformed the man that led the line at Brentford before him.

So, Brentford can't afford to back down with regard to their valuation. If Toney leaves, it must be for top money.

Given the fact that Brentford have previously always got value for money, you've got to back them here too.