Who is Kevin Schade? Strengths and weaknesses of Brentford’s newest signing

Brentford are making an early start in the January transfer window, completing the signing of a Bundesliga frontman.

After an injury scare with Ivan Toney and threat of the Bees frontman recieving a ban from the FA, Thomas Frank has moved to strengthen up front, adding depth to the forward position by snapping up a young winger who is also able to play centrally. Kevin Schade has been signed from Freiburg, with the forward initially joining on a loan deal, though, Brentford are expected to make the deal permanent at the end of the season.

With that in mind, we have rounded up all you need to know about the Bees’ newest signing.

Who is Kevin Schade?

Kevin Schade is a 21-year-old forward who was born in Polsdam, Germany.

He stands at 6ft1”, and qualifies to represent Germany or Nigeria at national level, having a German mother and a Nigerian father. He spent much of his youth career with Energie Cottbus, ahead of joining Freiburg at the age of 17.

His career so far

Schade spent a year in Freiburg’s youth system before graduating to the Bundesliga outfit’s B team. He would go on to make 32 appearances for the B team across two years, switching between the B side and the highest youth level. He scored 11 goals during that time, and that wone Schade a first-team call-up in 2021.

Since then, the winger has earned 29 league appearances, scoring four times. and that includes 12 appearances across all competitions this season, scoring once and assisting twice.

Beyond club football, Schade has represented Germany at four age levels, including under-21s. The winger has scored four in five appearances for Germany under-21s, and he remains part of that age group.

What has Thomas Frank said?

After Brentford completed the signing, Frank told Brentford’s official website: “I think Kevin is a typical Brentford signing.

“He is a young, promising talent that we see a big potential in. We have been following him for a while and we think he will suit our style of play.”

Strengths

Schade has serious pace and that, above all, is his biggest strength.

He is a versatile player, able to play anywhere across the front line, including as a striker, but Schade is a winger, by trade. That will make it interesting to see where he can fit into the Brentford XI, given the Bees usually play with wing-backs and strikers.

Schade is quick to rebounds as a striker, but it’s out wide where he stands out, able to turn on the jets swiftly and accelerate away from his marker with trickery and pace. In some ways, he is similar to countryman Leroy Sane in playing style.

Weaknesses

Schade is still a young player, and he is still developing at senior level.

He can be surprisingly strong on the ball for a winger, though not likely to the level of playing wing-back, though, that’s something Frank may be able to install at Brentford. One thing Schade does need to tidy up is his decision-making over when to take on a man or drop it off. He can be too eager to beat a man in dangerous areas, and that will get punished in the Premier League, as it can be in Bundesliga.

Similarly, Schade could improve on his decision-making in the final third, deciding when to deliver the ball into the box over trying to get to the byline. That’s certainly not uncommon with a young, pacey winger, and the spell with Brentford should help him pollish that side of his game.