Dan Bentley views Brentford as ideal next step in his pursuit of his England dream
DAN BENTLEY views Brentford as the ideal next step in the pursuit of his England dream.
The keeper, 23, was playing in League Two when he first told SunSport, two years ago, of his plans to emulate hero Joe Hart.
Now Bentley is moving up to the Championship having sealed a move from Southend to Griffin Park over the summer.
And he is thrilled with the switch, which should allow him the game time and tests he needs to develop into a Three Lions goalie.
The Basildon boy said: “I’ve made no secrets to the fact that I want to play at the highest level, whether for England and/or the Premier League.
“I felt that, in terms of my development, Brentford was the perfect next step.
“I’ve been linked with pretty much half the Football League on social media — some of it was even news to me!
“It’s nice, whether it be links fans made up or links that had some substance, it was flattering.
“But one thing I wanted, was to go to the next level and play.
“You see it so many times, that people go too high too early and they don’t meet their true potential because they stagnate in the reserves or on the bench, making appearances here and there.
“I felt Brentford offered me a step-up and I believed I could go to that level and really make an impact and get as many games as possible. It was a no-brainer in the end.”
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Brentford, who first bid for Bentley a few years ago, finally got their man this summer after his Shrimpers contract expired, with former Bees No 1 David Button moving to Fulham.
It was one of several dips the club made into League One during the close-season as they moved away from the foreign market they flopped in last year.
John Egan has joined from Gillingham, while Romaine Sawyers arrived from boss Denis Smith’s old club Walsall. And Bentley, who should make his Bees debut today at Huddersfield, believes the West London outfit can spring a surprise in the shadows of the Championship big-boys this season.
He added: “It’s obvious the way Brentford want to do things in terms of the future when you look at the signings we’ve made this summer.
“The club have made it clear they’re looking for young, hungry players who want to make a difference.
“That’s opposed to going abroad and spending however many millions on certain individuals.
“They want to get the best players from the lower leagues.
“The players they’ve signed, including myself, are very hungry players who want to succeed at this level and take the club on to the next level. In terms of realistic aims, we have to be looking to make a real impact on this league this year.
“While all the pressure is on Newcastle, Norwich and Aston Villa, we’re quite happy to slip under the radar.
“When you look at what Leicester have done — and I’m by no means comparing us to them — but if you had said four years ago they were going to win the Premier League, you’d be a brave betting man to put money on that.
“So why not us? “We’ve got a great infrastructure, a great ethos around the club, everyone is pulling in the right direction and we have a manager who is putting faith in young, hungry players.
“That’s a recipe for success.”