Forget the countdown to the New Year, Brentford fans will be counting down to 11pm on January 31 when the transfer window closes.

The window has not even opened and Bees supporters have been left worried by speculation regarding star striker Scott Hogan being linked with clubs left, right and centre and it will only continue to intensify as the window opens.

The rumours surrounding the former Rochdale striker are unsurprising, given his 13-goal haul this season off the back of his seven strikes in the final weeks of the previous campaign.

Given the fees paid for Jonathan Kodjia and Ross McCormack in recent months, Brentford can expect a fee to be in the region of around £10million at the very least.

As an aside, in January 2006, they sold DJ Campbell to Birmingham for £500,000 so to even talk about a Brentford player commanding an eight figure fee is something alien to long suffering Brentford fans

Memorable: DJ Campbell goes past Sunderland's Gary Breen to score the opening goal

The fact of the matter is that, if the price is right for the club, then Brentford will sanction Hogan's departure. Like 99 per cent of clubs in the world, the Bees are a selling club. If Manchester United, the most successful side in the country, can't keep hold of their star player (Cristiano Ronaldo) then what chance do Brentford have?

The 24-year-old made his ambitions clear in an interview I did with him earlier this month when he stated he wanted to be a Premier League player sooner rather than later.

He said: “I don’t want to be in the Championship long – I want to play in the Premier League.

“I think the teams I’ve been linked with are Championship teams. I don’t want to play Championship football all my career.

“I’ve seen those teams. Who knows what’s going to happen? It’s not up to me – it’s up to Brentford. I wouldn’t leave for a Championship club unless Brentford do it. That’s not my problem.

Scott Hogan

“Speculation is part and parcel of football and it’s for when people are doing well. I didn’t know anything about it.

“Whatever happens. If people want to talk they can. It doesn’t bother me. People can make stories up and they can get on social media and tweet me – I’m not going to reply to it.

“People like to talk – it’s part of football and we have to get on with it.”

Bees fans may not necessarily like hearing players saying things like that and there are even some who will say the club were loyal to him when he suffered two anterior cruciate ligament injuries and he's not replicated it in return.

I would say 20 goals in such a short space of time is returning that faith and, for me, it's about how a player facilitates their departure that matters so it's better to behave like a Jota than a James Tarkowski.

That show of loyalty could be worth millions to the club and keeping the club in a stable condition until moving to Lionel Road is more important.

The cold hard truth is that none of the current squad 'want' to be at the club as they'll want to be playing at the highest level. If you ask any of them if they want to be playing Premier League football, the overwhelming response would be yes. If they said their dreams were limited to playing for a mid table Championship side then you'd question their desire.

It's not a case of if Hogan goes, it's a matter of when be it in January or the summer when he will be entering the final year of a contract he is unlikely to renew and the Bees will be keen to cash in then rather than see him walk for nothing in 2018.

Plotting: Dean Smith

Brentford will certainly have a contingency plan if an acceptable offer does come in for Hogan next month and they will be in a position to move quickly.

The Bees' model that has proven so successful these past few years has been to sign raw talent from the lower divisions and make a healthy profit on a sale. Indeed, it has been the envy of other clubs.

As long as the right replacement is found when the time comes, Brentford will move on. Provided Hogan gives everything he has until his departure, and I have no doubt that he will do so, he deserves to be wished well.

The striker has been through a lot these past two and a half years and has deserved the success, plaudits and speculation that has come with it.

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