Iwan Morgan: Taking His Chance | OneFootball

By his own admission, Iwan Morgan “couldn’t really get a rhythm in front of goal” in the first half of this season.

Coming into his second campaign in west London, the Brentford B forward was fresh off an equal team-best nine goals last year and eyeing more in 2024/25.

After starting the new season as a centre-forward, he moved to the left-wing, with Ashley Hay taking on the mantle up front.

When the January transfer window rolled around, Hay joined Cheltenham Town on loan for the remainder of the season and Kyreece Lisbie took his place as the team's number nine.

While Morgan's goals and assists numbers weren’t as high as he would have liked, he was playing a vital role in the starting line-up and the team flourished throughout this period, an unbeaten run across all competitions starting in October and running until the Atlantic Cup in February.

“I think the start of the season was a bit tough for me, I couldn’t really get a rhythm in front of goal and couldn’t really get going,” said Morgan.

“Then I went through a phase where Ash was doing really well up front, so it was nice to have a bit of healthy competition.

“I think from Ipswich, where I managed to get my first goal of the season, sort of led me to where I am now.”

In the final days before the transfer deadline, Lisbie joined Colchester United on a permanent deal.

Morgan was then moved back to his familiar position at centre-forward, where he has flourished ever since.

Across his last five games up front, he has scored six goals, including a first-half hat-trick against Ipswich in the Under-21 Professional Development League (PDL) in mid-February, taking his season tally to 14 goals and four assists.

“It was a great feeling. For a striker, when you get that hat-trick it’s a massive relief,” explained Morgan.

“I changed positions, went onto the left-wing and enjoyed that. Now since Kyreece and Ash have gone, I’ve sort of taken that centre-forward role and I’m really enjoying it.

“I think recently I’ve been playing really well, managing now to get more goals and assists to add to my game.

“For me, it doesn’t bother me who scores or who gets the assists, as long as the team’s winning. It was a great feeling to be in that run that we had, knowing that I’m playing my part as well as all the other players.”

Morgan’s good form saw him rewarded with a spot on Thomas Frank’s bench for Brentford’s recent Premier League clashes with Leicester City and Everton.

Reflecting on being a part of a first-team matchday squad, the 19-year-old said he tried to learn from those around him to help influence his preparations going forward.

“It’s unbelievable really," he continued. "Leicester was a big one for me because when I was younger, I used to watch Jamie Vardy play when he first came into the Premier League.

“How he went from being a non-league player coming all the way through, I think that was a very special moment.

"You learn from other players, what they do, how they prep, how they do certain things and try and add it to what you can do to improve on your matchday.”

While Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa have helped educate Morgan through their actions around the training ground, another two first-team players have stood out in their ability to educate the forward.

“Wissa and Bryan are two quality players who you always learn a lot from. Two very different players, I think for me I look more towards Wissa because I feel like we play a similar style,” explained Morgan.

“You learn a lot from how they train, what they do before games and how they prepare for games.

“One player who helps me a lot is [Fábio] Carvalho, I always say ‘when you’re in this situation what are you trying to do?’

“I try and learn a lot from Ben Mee because he’s a very experienced centre-back. I might ask him ‘how are you able to get around me there when I was pinning you?’ and he helps me out.

“You can learn a lot from every player in the team because they’ve all got different attributes.”

Looking ahead to the remainder of the 2024/25 season, Morgan believes there is more that he can add to his game to continue his development.

As a team, the young Bees are eyeing success as they push on in the Premier League Cup, London Senior Cup and the PDL.

“Individually, I'll just keep doing what I’m doing, I think as a 19-year-old I couldn’t ask for anything different," said Morgan.

"I'm playing well and managed to basically make my dream come true as a young kid and be involved in a Premier League game.

“Physically, I feel like I’m in the best condition, mentally I feel like I’m in the best condition. Playing wise, you can always do more, there’s always more I can do, but I feel like Brentford are starting to see the Iwan that they got when I was at my former club.

“As a team, I think there’s only one aim really, what can we win? We’re still in the Premier League Cup, we’re still in the London Senior Cup.

“Then we’ve got the league, which is still in our hands at the end of the day. We’ve still got a game in hand, we’ve still got an opportunity to go and get it.”