Having not signed any new senior players at the start of July, it looked likely that Brentford's preseason would be dominated by the ongoing saga surrounding Christian Eriksen's future.

Fast forward 30 days and the Dane, who signed a short-term contract in January, has made the move to Manchester United and the Bees have spent well to strengthen in some key positions.

The only other major departure has seen Marcus Foss move to Middlesborough following a successful loan spell at fellow Championship side Hull last season.

Coming in, Thomas Frank has added the exciting Keane Lewis-Potter from the Tigers. 

Ben Mee and Aaron Hickey have come in to add defensive cover while Thomas Strakosha will provide a real challenge for David Raya's place in goal.

Perhaps the most important transfer market business has been keeping hold of Ivan Toney and other first team stalwarts.

This coupled with a steady preseason tour in Germany, the Bees have flown under the radar at times this summer.

But what the club has done is build on some already strong foundations off the pitch to ensure that their success is not just a flash in the pan.

New Faces

Perhaps the most notable changes have been the appointment of Justin Cochrane and Ben Ryan to bolster the background staff.

Former non-league player Cochrane comes in to fill the new role of head of coaching.

One of the most highly-rated young coaches in the country, the 40-year-old has made the opposite trip to Erikson, coming from a job as Manchester United's head of player development and coaching, and is expected to make a big impact working alongside Thomas Frank.

While Ryan - who coached Fiji's rugby sevens to gold at the 2016 Olympics - is the new director of elite performance.

Having also worked with UK Sport and the French Rugby Federation, Ryan was described as "the outstanding candidate" by Brentford's director of football, Phil Giles.

Giles said: "He brings huge experience of how to reach elite level across a range of sports and has a coaching background which will help him work effectively with Thomas."

And as a Brentford season ticket holder, Ryan is not an outside appointment in the usual sense.

The exact role of head of elite performance does vary between Premier League outfits, but essentially he is expected to oversee the different performance departments at the club, from conditioning to nutrition and analytics.

All of this with the end game of ensuring players still fit and ready to face the demands of top level football.

While in part necessitated by the departure of co-director of football Rasmus Ankersen in December, the new staffing appointments show two things. 

Firstly, Brentford's ongoing commitment to innovation and bringing in experience from other sports to help develop on the pitch.

And secondly they show that Brentford, who start their second ever Premier League season at Leicester on Sunday, want to remain there for a long time to come.

While so many teams come into the Premiership and spend big to look for immediate success, Brentford have shown their intention to build long-term and sustainable success.

Thomas Frank has added the exciting Keane Lewis-Potter from the Hull City to bolster his squad (image via Brentford FC)

Academy

Further investment in the club's future may also come through the announcement that the academy will be reinstated.

The Bees made the controversial decision in 2016 to remove the youth setup in favour of a B-team focusing on players aged 17-21. 

While the decision raised eyebrows across the domestic game, it has not stopped Brentford from producing a number of top quality players.

But now a combination of the club's improved financial position and a Premier League rule change that means all teams must have a Category Three level academy or higher by the 2024-5 season mean the Bees will have a full youth setup again.

It is expected that the academy will work in tandem with the B team for the time being, and over time develop to become a top level setup. 

"We are excited by the challenge that reopening an academy will bring, with good people already in place to tackle that challenge," Giles said in a statement on the club website.

"Having closed the academy once before, I want to be clear that we have no intentions of re-opening an academy with any thought that it should be closed again at any time in future. 

"We want our new academy to complement and enhance our B team programme, which we are confident will remain the best way that we can bridge the gap between academy and Premier League football.

"We will be committed to running the best academy that we can. 

"In particular, we will put the welfare of the young people who attend our academy at the forefront of our plans, with every academy graduate benefitting from the experiences they gain from their time with Brentford, whether they eventually become a professional footballer or not."

Training Ground

The club have also been granted planning permission by Hounslow Council to develop their Jersey Road training ground. 

Subject to approval by the Mayor of London, the temporary buildings will be used by the first and B teams for the next five years while the rest of the site is improved.

A club statement read: "This decision means that the club can replace the existing buildings at Jersey Road. The new training facility, whilst temporary, will be of a much higher standard and represent a significant improvement on what we have now.

"It will act as a stepping-stone towards our longer-term vision for a state-of-the-art performance centre."

While the temporary buildings will not be able to support a level one academy yet, and the club do not own the land the training ground is on, the intent is clear to invest in Brentford's infrastructure to provide a solid basis for improvements on the pitch.

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Commercial News

Further long-term news has also come in the last week as the club announced a ten-year stadium naming deal with Worcester-based home and garden appliance company Gtech.

A figure has not been announced for the deal but the club said it was the largest in its 133-year history. 

Manchester United will be the first side to be hosted at the Gtech Community Stadium this season on August 13.

Sure, the club makes far more money through TV revenues just by virtue of being in the Premier League than it does through its commercial sales, but any boost to the latter is welcome news for a club competing against some of the richest teams in the world.

But it has been sustainability of a different kind which has been on display with the club's kit policy this summer.

Last November Brentford announced that, following a fan consultation, its home kit would not be replaced this summer and would instead be used for two seasons.

The club said the move would support fans in terms of affordability as well as bring environmental benefits.

Jon Varney, Brentford FC chief executive said: "Whilst it is not normal practice for Premier League clubs to roll a kit over for two seasons, fans have told us that they would be in favour of the savings that a two-season shirt would provide.

"This season, our membership of The Premier League means that the income we receive from broadcast and commercial partnerships far outweighs the income we can generate from retail, therefore now is the perfect time for us to try something different without it having a material impact on our revenue."

The club has not confirmed whether this will be a long-term policy, but it has also announced the same arrangement for the new away kit launched for the 2022/23 campaign.

So going into Sunday's clash at the King Power, Thomas Frank may not have an array of new players to call on, but he will be safe in the knowledge that his club has shown no hesitation in putting themselves in the perfect place to guarantee long-term success on and off the pitch.