![\"Brentford](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0_GettyImages-1494068989.jpg\")
<\/p>\nBrentford owner Matthew Benham has been speaking at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Boston, Massachusetts<\/p>\n
11:24, 09 Mar 2026Updated 11:26, 09 Mar 2026<\/p>\n
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Brentford owner Matthew Benham has been speaking about the club’s transfer near-misses<\/p>\n
Brentford owner Matthew Benham has revealed his regret at failing to land Arsenal and England international Eberechi Eze<\/a> in a \u00a34million transfer.<\/p>\n Benham, who was speaking at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Boston, also revealed the Bees came close to landing Manchester City forward Omar Marmoush and Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk<\/a>.<\/p>\n He explained when pushed on the club’s notable transfer near-misses: “There’s always going to be ones you regret.”I was saying before that we could have signed Eze for \u00a34m I think in 2019. We could also have signed Marmoush on a free about three years ago.<\/p>\n “[We could have signed both] for about \u00a34m combined. The summer we got promoted to the Premier League<\/a>, there was actually two players that scouted amazingly, amazingly well.<\/p>\n FOLLOW OUR ARSENAL FB PAGE! Latest Gunners news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n “One was Mudryk which was maybe a bit complicated if we signed, although we were quite close to signing him for a low fee, for about \u20ac20m. Eventually, he went for more like \u20ac80m though he’s currently serving a drug ban.<\/p>\n “Then Michael Olise, his scouting was unbelievable, out of this world but we just got promoted and we weren’t used to the crazy agent fees in the Premier League at the time.<\/p>\n “The agent fee for that one was so insanely high that we stepped away, even though there was part of us thinking ‘well, if you combine the agent fee and the transfer fee, it’s kind of not too bad,’ but the agent fee on its own was just so insane that we stepped away. There’s always going to be ones you miss out on.”<\/p>\n Brentford’s interest in Eze, who joined Arsenal in a \u00a367.5m deal from Crystal Palace last summer, dates back to his time with west London rivals Queens Park Rangers.<\/p>\n Brentford were interested in signing Arsenal playmaker Ebere Eze during his time at QPR(Image: Jacques Feeney\/Offside\/Offside via Getty Images)<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Manchester City’s Egypt international attacker Marmoush joined Eintracht Frankfurt on a free transfer from Wolfsburg during the summer of 2023.<\/p>\n The Bees were also courting Mudryk when he rose to prominence at Shakhtar Donetsk and they saw two bids, worth in the region of \u00a312m and \u00a315m, rejected for the Ukrainian in January 2022 before he joined Chelsea for \u00a388.5m just one year later.<\/p>\n Mudryk remains suspended and has not featured for the Blues since November 2024 when he scored a Conference League victory against Heidenheim in Germany.<\/p>\n We’ve launched a new Arsenal podcast ‘Seeing Red’ with chief football writer John Cross and Arsenal reporter Tom Canton.<\/p>\n Each week, they will dive deep into the biggest topics as they follow Mikel Arteta’s side every step of the way – and will also discuss nostalgic flashbacks before each fixture.<\/p>\n It’s a great time to be an Arsenal fan, with the Gunners flying high under Arteta as they look to win silverware this season.<\/p>\n The North Londoners are going strong in the Premier League and Champions League – and they’re also in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.<\/p>\n We’ll provide insight and reaction – and have fun along the way – as Arsenal target the biggest trophies this season.<\/p>\n No stone will be left unturned. VAR controversy? Poor performances? Unsung hero who deserves praise? Fixture chaos? We’ll have it all covered.<\/p>\n![\"Eberechi](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0_GettyImages-2262506321.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769168834_710_0_SEEING-RED-ART-1.jpg\")
Welcome to ‘Seeing Red’ – our new Arsenal podcast<\/p>\n