Brentford boss Thomas Frank believes goalkeeper Mark Flekken is performing “at a very high level” as he continues to step out of the shadow of David Raya.
Flekken was signed from Freiburg for £11million last summer to replace Raya following his high-profile switch to Arsenal. The Dutchman had some shaky displays at the start of the season but has proved his worth in recent weeks, including a stellar performance in a narrow 1-0 defeat by Manchester City in which he made 12 saves.
“I think now not only the Brighton game, but the first big moment was against Man City when he had a top game. And we went to Wolves, won 2-0 and he got a clean sheet there.
“I think the last 10-ish games he has performed at a very high level. I think it’s fair to say the start of the season was not as good as now. That’s natural, and now it’s a good level and the level we hoped to see from him.”
Flekken was also named man of the match after making six saves in Wednesday night’s goalless draw at home to Brighton.
“I think he’s been a top keeper all the time,” said Frank. “The reason why we signed him was because that we believed he had a very good level.
“It’s not the first time a player moved to another league and took a little bit of time to adapt. He moved to the best and the quickest league in the world. I think he has adapted quite well.
“On top of that we have had injury after injury after injury to the back four at this moment in time our entire maybe preferred back four are out. So he hasn’t had that stability to help him settle in quicker.
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