Keith Andrews has got his side playing brilliantly already, and wins over Chelsea and Tottenham were well deserved.
One of a handful of unbeaten teams in the English top flight, they currently sit just three points behind last season's champions Arsenal, and will fancy their chances of continuing their good start to the campaign when domestic football resumes shortly.
Great start to 2026/27
Though transfer issues would appear to be a low priority at this point in time, there is the small matter of Kevin Schade having entered the final 18 months of his deal, which runs out in the summer of 2028.
The 24-year-old has already scored three times in his five appearances this season, and his performances since joining the Bees have marked him out as an attacker of note.
Andrews and the Brentford board will therefore be mindful of the fact that if the player and his representatives show no sign of wanting to put pen to paper on a new deal, the club won't have too long to be able to get their best price for him.
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Liverpool and Man Utd showing interest
Losing him to a Premier League rival would likely be a last resort; however, reports suggest that both Liverpool and Man Utd are genuinely interested in acquiring the 6ft 1in German.
Schade, who cost Brentford a modest €24m when signing in 2023, often plays in the same right-wing position that was Mo Salah's habitat at Anfield for many years.
Though it's only been a few months since the Egyptian King departed, the difficulties that the Merseysiders have had in replacing him are obvious.
From Man Utd's perspective, they're still in something of a transitional period under Michael Carrick, and finding the right balance in all areas is what will see the improvement required.
Should Schade consider his options, what could either North West giant expect to receive for what would likely be at least double the fee Brentford paid for the player's services?
Good goalscoring ratio
Since signing for the West Londoners, he's plundered 25 goals in all competitions, with Yoane Wissa, Bryan Mbeumo and Igor Thiago the three players to score more in the same period.
One of only seven players to make 100+ appearances since the start of the 2023/24 campaign, Schade's importance to the squad therefore isn't in question.
18 fast breaks are the joint most along with Thiago, whilst his shot accuracy of 58.41% puts him in the very top bracket at the club.
In terms of Schade's 146 shots on target, Wissa has been the only squad member to have more, which isn't unexpected given the position of both players on the pitch.
Major flaws in Schade's game
The major flaw in Schade's game, and the one area that could scupper any move to a bigger club than Brentford, with due respect to the West Londoners, is his passing accuracy.
At just 65.93%, only Dango Ouattara has a worse percentage, and with both Liverpool and United taking great pride in the way that their players pass the ball, such a low output can't be overlooked.
Furthermore, a winger has to be able to cross the ball accurately, and here too, Schade falls short.
Of the 71 crosses he's made during his time at Brentford, he has found his target with only 15 of them, for a fairly awful 21.13% completion.
He can slightly redeem himself thanks to the 65 chances he's created, 20 of which could be termed as 'big' chances, and the 1,100 one-on-one duels he's contested - no one has attempted more.
Room for improvement
Aerially, he hasn't been too shabby either, given that his 448 aerial duels contested have been topped by Nathan Collins (535) and no one else.
In terms of clearances made (85) and interceptions (29), he's distinctly average, but both areas aren't necessarily part of his usual duties.
There is clearly room for improvement, though it must be acknowledged that Schade certainly has age on his side, and therefore, there's no reason to think that he won't get to the required levels in those areas in which he's currently lacking.
Liverpool or United might be said to be taking a punt in some respects, but there is plenty to like about the way in which Kevin Schade approaches every match and applies himself within the team dynamic.
Only time will tell if that's enough to tempt other clubs to test the waters.
Jason Pettigrove has been the features writer for ScoresStat since 2025, utilising Opta data to form the basis of his articles. He has previously worked for high-profile football clubs, news and media outlets, both in print and digital, and can usually be found watching FC Barcelona when time permits. You can read more of his pieces here.
