Josh Dasilva
Personal information
Full name Pelenda Joshua Tunga Dasilva[1]
Date of birth (1998-10-23) 23 October 1998[1]
Place of birth Ilford, England
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.84 m)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Brentford
Number 10
Youth career
2006–2015 Arsenal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2018 Arsenal 0 (0)
2018– Brentford 135 (20)
International career
2017 England U19 3 (0)
2017–2019 England U20 9 (0)
2020 England U21 5 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:28, 5 January 2024 (UTC)

Pelenda Joshua Tunga Dasilva (born 23 October 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Brentford.

Dasilva is a graduate of Arsenal's Hale End Academy. In search of a pathway into senior football,[3] he transferred to Brentford in 2018. He was capped by England at youth level.

Club career

Arsenal

Dasilva began his career with Arsenal and joined the club's Hale End academy at the age of eight.[4] He progressed through the ranks and moved from left wing to forward,[5] before settling into a box-to-box midfield role,[6][7] under the guidance of Thierry Henry and Kwame Ampadu.[3] After scoring 28 goals during the first year of his scholarship,[7] he signed his first professional contract in August 2015 and was an unused substitute for the first team on two occasions during the 2016–17 season.[1][2] Dasilva was an unused substitute on seven occasions during the first half of the 2017–18 season and made three appearances, all in EFL Cup matches.[1] Despite progressing into the U23 team,[8] Dasilva failed to see a pathway into the first team squad turned down a new contract at the end of the 2017–18 season.[3] He was released on 30 June 2018.[4]

Brentford

2018–19

On 21 August 2018, Dasilva joined Championship club Brentford on a four-year contract, with the option of an further year, on a free transfer.[4] After overcoming some fitness issues,[9] he made his debut as a substitute for Josh McEachran late in a 2–0 win over Millwall on 3 November 2018.[10] Either side of the New Year, Dasilva made sporadic substitute appearances in league matches and made two FA Cup starts, before breaking into the starting lineup in March 2019.[1] On 19 April 2019, he scored the first senior goal of his career in the return match versus Millwall, with "an unstoppable curling effort into the top corner from 30 yards",[11] which saved a 1–1 draw.[10] Dasilva finished the 2018–19 season with 21 appearances and one goal.[10]

2019–20

After beginning the 2019–20 season in a substitute role,[1] Dasilva heeded head coach Thomas Frank's call to up his work rate and intensity.[3] He subsequently broke into the starting lineup in early October 2019 and came into form,[1] scoring six goals in a 10-match spell, which included the first hat-trick of his career in a 7–0 win over Luton Town on 30 November.[12] His November 2019 performances saw him nominated for the EFL Championship Player of the Month award.[13] By the time Brentford's season ended with defeat in the 2020 Championship play-off final,[14] Dasilva had made 47 appearances and scored 10 goals.[12]

2020–21

During the 2020–21 season, after seven appearances and two goals,[15] Dasilva signed a new four-year contract on 4 October 2020.[16] His performance and goal in a 1–0 EFL Cup quarter-final victory over Premier League club Newcastle United on 22 December was recognised with a place in the EFL Cup Team of the Round.[15][17] In the following round versus Tottenham Hotspur, Dasilva was sent off for the first time in his senior career after receiving a straight red card for a challenge on Pierre-Emile Højbjerg.[15][18] By the time his season was ended by a hip injury in late February 2021,[19] Dasilva had made 35 appearances and scored seven goals.[15] In his absence, Brentford were promoted to the Premier League after victory in the 2021 Championship play-off final.[20]

2021–22

Having spent four of the previous six months on crutches,[19] Dasilva was left off Brentford's 25-man Premier League squad for the first half of the 2021–22 season.[21] After the window transfer window closed, he was named in the club's updated 25-man Premier League squad.[22] Following two behind closed doors friendly appearances, Dasilva made his first competitive appearance of the season as a substitute for Mads Roerslev after 72 minutes of a 4–1 FA Cup fourth round defeat to Everton on 5 February 2022.[19] Dasilva was sent off on his fourth league appearance on 26 February and a hamstring injury suffered while suspended saw him miss a further seven weeks.[1][23] He played the remainder of the season in a substitute role and ended the campaign with 10 appearances.[24]

2022–23

Following off-season training with a personal coach, alongside former Arsenal teammate Marcus McGuane, Dasilva returned fully fit for the 2022–23 season and scored in each of his first two appearances of the regular season.[23][25] Dasilva's 39 appearances was his highest tally since the 2019–20 season,[12][25] though two-thirds of them came as a substitute.[1] Dasilva's opening day goal versus Leicester City (one of four goals he scored during the season) was cited as Brentford head coach Thomas Frank's "moment of the season",[25][26] who admitted he "got emotional just thinking about it. (Dasilva's) been out for 18 months; almost a year, then a setback and another setback".[27]

2023–24

Following his first appearance of the 2023–24 season, in Brentford's second match of the campaign,[28] Dasilva missed more than four months due to a hamstring injury.[29] He returned to match play with a start in a 1–1 FA Cup third round draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers on 5 January 2024.[28]

International career

Dasilva was a part of the England U19 squad which won the 2017 UEFA European U19 Championship and made three appearances in the tournament.[4][30] He appeared in each match of the U20 team's 2017–18 Under 20 Elite League campaign and was a late inclusion in the squad for the 2019 Toulon Tournament.[31][32] Dasilva won five caps and scored one goal for England at U21 level, all in 2021 UEFA European U21 Championship qualifying matches.[1] In February 2020, Dasilva stated that he would be open to playing for Angola and in May 2023,[33] he was contacted by DR Congo.[34]

Personal life

Dasilva is of Angolan descent.[33] He attended Beal High School in Redbridge, London.[5]

Career statistics

As of match played 5 January 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Arsenal 2016–17[35] Premier League 00000000—00
2017–18[36] Premier League 000030000030
Total 000030000030
Brentford 2018–19[10] Championship 1714000——211
2019–20[12] Championship 42102000—3[lower-alpha 1]04710
2020–21[15] Championship 3050052—00357
2021–22[24] Premier League 901000——100
2022–23[25] Premier League 3641020——394
2023–24[28] Premier League 1 0 1 0 0 0 — — 2 0
Total 135209072—3015422
Career total 1352090102003015722

Honours

England U19

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Josh Dasilva at Soccerway. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  2. 1 2 "Josh Dasilva". Brentford F.C. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Goodwin, Adam. "Josh Dasilva: Recipe For Success". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Josh Dasilva signs long-term contract at Brentford". Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  5. 1 2 "Josh Dasilva". www.arsenal.com. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  6. ↑ "Josh Dasilva". www.arsenal.com. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  7. 1 2 Kershaw, Tom (30 January 2020). "Josh Dasilva: 'I had to leave Arsenal – but I want them to win every game'". The Independent. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  8. ↑ "'This is a moment I've always dreamed of'". www.arsenal.com. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  9. ↑ "Head of Medical Neil Greig provides an injury update". Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Games played by Josh Dasilva in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  11. ↑ "Josh Dasilva nominated for Sky Bet Championship Goal of the Month". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "Games played by Josh Dasilva in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  13. ↑ "Josh Dasilva beaten to November Player of the Month prize". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  14. ↑ "Brentford 1 Fulham 2". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 "Games played by Josh Dasilva in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  16. ↑ "Josh signs on until 2024". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  17. ↑ "Bees pair named in Team of the Round". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  18. ↑ "Son and Sissoko send Spurs to Wembley". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  19. 1 2 3 Harris, Jay. "Josh Dasilva on Arsenal return, a career-threatening injury and losing his car keys on the Wembley pitch". The Athletic. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  20. ↑ "Bees beat Swans to reach Premier League". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  21. ↑ "Brentford confirm Premier League squad list". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  22. ↑ "Updated squad lists for 2021/22 Premier League". www.premierleague.com. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  23. 1 2 Harris, Jay. "Josh Dasilva feared his career could be over – now he's scoring stunning Premier League goals". The Athletic. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  24. 1 2 "Games played by Josh Dasilva in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  25. 1 2 3 4 "Games played by Josh Dasilva in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  26. ↑ "Thomas Frank press conference: Brentford boss previews Man City". BBC Sport. 26 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  27. ↑ "Thomas hails Dasilva impact". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  28. 1 2 3 "Games played by Josh Dasilva in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  29. ↑ "Dasilva to return for FA Cup clash". Brentford FC. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  30. 1 2 "England Matches – Under-19's 2010–20". www.englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  31. ↑ "England Matches – Under-20's". www.englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  32. ↑ "England U20s squad named by Paul Simpson for Maurice Revello Tournament in France". TheFA.com. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  33. 1 2 Kwenda, Stanley (12 February 2020). "Josh Dasilva: Brentford midfielder is open to playing for Angola". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  34. ↑ "Joshua Dasilva, la pépite de Brentford convoitée par les Léopards de la RDC". Lebarometre.cd (in French). 23 May 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  35. ↑ "Games played by Josh Dasilva in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  36. ↑ "Games played by Josh Dasilva in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
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