Bromley Football Club have today announced via club media that academy graduate Ben Krauhaus has been sold to Premier League Brentford for a club-record fee.
Ravens fans will be happy to hear that, as part of the agreement, Krauhaus will return to South East London until the end of the season.
Krauhaus is a product of the Bromley youth system and he rose to prominence after scoring the winning goal in an FA Youth Cup second round tie against Portsmouth in 2020. The youngster then achieved the same feat in 2021, this time against Forest Green Rovers.
Bromley then decided to send the versatile midfielder out on loan in order to gain some experience in men’s football. He played for Walton and Hersham as well as Cray Wanderers, where he scored a hat trick against Brightlingsea Regent in one of his final games for the club.
Andy Woodman gave the then-teenager a chance in the first-team at the end of the 2022/23 season. Krauhaus appeared in 11 league games for the National League playoff chasers, scoring one goal in the process.
This season, the number 32 has been a regular in a Bromley side who sit in second place in the fifth division. He has played 28 league games and chipped in with five useful goals which is what prompted the interest from a number of other clubs.
The deal suits both parties, Brentford on the one hand get a player who they can utilise in the future and now have no threat on missing out on. As for Bromley, the loan back clause in the deal will likely please both the player, who will want to help his boyhood club achieve promotion to the football league, and the club, who will get a fair amount of money to help fund that promotion push whilst not losing a key player until the summer.
Writer’s View
Krauhaus is a fine young player who has deservedly got a move to a big team. The 20-year-old is just one example of the success of the model which Bromley have utilised in recent years. Their desire to invest in youth and buy young players who can be nurtured by Andy Woodman, who has a background in youth coaching, has already paid heed with the likes of Kellen Fisher being signed by Norwich City in the summer.
As previously mentioned, the money which the Ravens will receive for Krauhaus could be crucial in their quest for promotion. It may initially have to be used on signing another goalkeeper after they announced that Teddy Sharman-Lowe had been recalled by Chelsea earlier today.
