BBC football pundit Troy Deeney released his Premier League team of the week following the opening round of matches, and Brentford came away with two selections after a dominant result against Tottenham.
Deeney, who picks his team and manager of the week after every round of Premier League fixtures, highlighted Keane Lewis-Potter and Vitaly Janelt as standouts for Brentford. Lewis-Potter scored and impressed in both defensive and attacking phases. "He is one of Brentford's underrated players and sort of sums up their team," Deeney said. "Nobody speaks about him or Brentford but they hammered Tottenham." Janelt earned his place for a similar reason. Deeney described him as big, powerful and dominant, adding that he "was always the one breaking up play and doing the horrible things really well" before also scoring against Spurs.
In goal, Deeney chose James Trafford of Leeds, who kept a clean sheet against Nottingham Forest. Deeney noted that Trafford had moved to Leeds after a frustrating World Cup with England, where he felt he should have played more. The clean sheet, Deeney said, made Trafford one of the few goalkeepers to achieve that across the opening round.
At the back, Hull City defender Nobel Mendy earned a place for his power and contribution at both ends. He scored Hull's second goal and gave Deeney enough reason to say he is the kind of player opponents simply do not want to face. Chelsea's Maxence Lacroix, making his debut for the club, also made the XI. Deeney said Lacroix added experience and calmness, picked up an assist, and provided the kind of maturity Chelsea will need. "It was a very good debut for the France defender," he said.
Brighton's Maxim de Cuyper took the other defensive spot. He scored, registered an assist, and Deeney said he set the tone early with aggressive pressing. Aston Villa, Brighton's opponents, were poor, but de Cuyper's first 20 minutes stood out regardless.
In midfield, Deeney placed Marc Guehi in a holding role despite Guehi normally playing as a center back. Guehi moved to Manchester City over the summer and was brought on as a calming presence against Bournemouth. He scored an equaliser after missing what Deeney described as a massive chance earlier in the game. Deeney said Guehi controlled the game more than City's £116 million record signing Elliot Anderson.
Arsenal's Christos Tzolis drew the most expansive praise from Deeney. The young winger joined from Club Brugge and made an immediate impression. Deeney compared him to both Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard, then went further. "He feels to me like both of them in one," Deeney said. "He has a lot more output than those guys. He's going to be a beast for this year."
Newcastle's Anthony Elanga rounded out the selection. Deeney said Elanga had been used poorly last season under Eddie Howe, regularly benched or substituted early. This season, under a new manager and in a new formation, Elanga showed what he could do when given the chance.
