2020 Vitaly Janelt moved from VfL Bochum to Brentford FC. There he celebrated his 100th Premier League game – a milestone that no other Brentford professional has achieved before him
In Germany, Vitaly Janelt has largely flown under the radar three and a half years after his move from VfL Bochum to the Premier League. However, the 25-year-old has always delivered consistently good performances at Brentford FC – similar to Pascal Groß for Brighton & Hove Albion – and is one of the absolute leading players. In contrast to Groß, who has now played five international matches for the DFB and has hopes of playing in the European Championship, Janelt has not yet had the opportunity to play for the national team.
But the club is all the happier to have the Hamburg native. Last weekend, the midfielder wrote his name into the Bees’ history books: Janelt played his 100th Premier League game for Brentford FC. He is the first player at the club to break this mark.
To celebrate, Thomas Frank’s side beat Luton Town 5-1 in the all-important game. Janelt himself contributed an assist and played 90 minutes on the pitch. Brentford thus distanced themselves from the relegation places by ten points. With four matchdays to go, Brentford’s third successive relegation is as good as secured.
Janelt laid the foundations for his own personal record after his transfer at the start of the 2020/21 season. His 41 appearances in the second division helped the club to their first promotion to the Premier League, where they are now holding their own for the third season in a row – which is also not a matter of course.
Steadily rising market value
The defensive midfielder has been an absolute regular in all seasons and has steadily increased his market value. The portal “transfermarkt.de” now puts his market value at €22 million – a figure that even those responsible at Brentford would never have dreamed of after signing him for around €600,000 in October 2020.
With a total of 157 appearances (eleven goals, eight assists), Janelt has recently become a fan favorite at the Bees. His contract in west London runs until 2026 and if the man who once made 54 appearances for Bochum (two goals, four assists) continues to improve from season to season, the DFB will soon be unable to avoid him.