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Brentford's £39m Sangare could be the signing of the season - one for the scorer markets
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NewsDesk
Original post · 18 Aug
There's a nice bit of cheek at the heart of this story. When Mamadou Sangare got his first Mali call-up back in 2024, he had to do the traditional initiation song stood on a chair. Captain Yves Bissouma asked what position he fancied. "Yours," Sangare replied, dead straight. Bissouma loved it, and so did the manager.
Fast forward to now, and there's a neat symmetry. Brentford open the season against Tottenham, and Sangare will start as the Bees' new record signing. Bissouma - released by Spurs this summer - is still without a club and won't be on the pitch. Football has a way of writing these stories itself.
Why Brentford paid a club record £39m
Sangare arrives from RC Lens for £39m, which Sky Sports describes as a genuine coup for the west London side. He was one of Lens' most important players as they finished second in Ligue 1 and won the French Cup, and he was named in Ligue 1's Team of the Year - ahead of names like Joao Neves and Fabian Ruiz.
The interesting part is that he chose Brentford at all. Sangare could have stayed at Lens for Champions League football, and his old Mali boss Tom Saintfiet says Premier League "giants" were circling this summer. He picked the Bees instead.
Not your standard No 6
If you followed Ligue 1 last season, you'll know the type. Sangare earned a reputation as the "Elliot Anderson of French football" for his ball-winning and defensive numbers, where he was in a league of his own.
But Saintfiet is keen to stress he's more than a destroyer. "If you talk about ball recovery, tackling, then you look really to the Claude Makelele, the Gennaro Gattuso... And for me, he's not really a No 6," Saintfiet told Sky Sports. "He's more of a No 8 than a No 6, and he can even play as a No 10."
That matters for how Brentford will line up. Yehor Yarmoliuk looks the natural holding option, which frees Sangare to push further forward and cause problems higher up the pitch. Saintfiet even reckons he'd fit at Barcelona thanks to his passing and composure under pressure.
The goals angle
Here's where it gets interesting for anyone who likes a goalscorer market. Only two players in Ligue 1 attempted more shots from outside the box than the Lens man last season, and he's already off the mark for his new club - opening his Brentford account with a long-range strike in a 7-0 pre-season win over Eintracht Frankfurt.
Saintfiet thinks there's more in the tank. "I think he can score a few more goals a season," he said, adding that Sangare is almost too unselfish and could stand to shoot more himself. Three, four, five goals a season from midfield would be a decent return.
For bettors, that's the thing to watch: a midfielder who arrives cheap in the anytime-scorer and shots markets while people get to know him, but who clearly has the range to punish keepers. Whether that hype builds early depends on how quickly he adapts to the Premier League's tempo.
Settling in
The one caveat is intensity. The Premier League is faster and more physical than Ligue 1, and even the best imports need a settling-in spell. That said, Sangare didn't need one at Lens after arriving from Rapid Vienna - he was an immediate hit there.
Saintfiet's parting line tells you where he thinks this is heading. "Brentford is a good step... but for me, knowing Mamadou Sangare, Brentford is not his final destination. He can reach the top in England."
Brentford host Spurs this Saturday, kick-off 5.30pm. First proper look, and a decent early test.
Sources:
If this changes where you play, the community keeps its thread on UK casino sites up to date.
Fast forward to now, and there's a neat symmetry. Brentford open the season against Tottenham, and Sangare will start as the Bees' new record signing. Bissouma - released by Spurs this summer - is still without a club and won't be on the pitch. Football has a way of writing these stories itself.
Why Brentford paid a club record £39m
Sangare arrives from RC Lens for £39m, which Sky Sports describes as a genuine coup for the west London side. He was one of Lens' most important players as they finished second in Ligue 1 and won the French Cup, and he was named in Ligue 1's Team of the Year - ahead of names like Joao Neves and Fabian Ruiz.
The interesting part is that he chose Brentford at all. Sangare could have stayed at Lens for Champions League football, and his old Mali boss Tom Saintfiet says Premier League "giants" were circling this summer. He picked the Bees instead.
Not your standard No 6
If you followed Ligue 1 last season, you'll know the type. Sangare earned a reputation as the "Elliot Anderson of French football" for his ball-winning and defensive numbers, where he was in a league of his own.
But Saintfiet is keen to stress he's more than a destroyer. "If you talk about ball recovery, tackling, then you look really to the Claude Makelele, the Gennaro Gattuso... And for me, he's not really a No 6," Saintfiet told Sky Sports. "He's more of a No 8 than a No 6, and he can even play as a No 10."
That matters for how Brentford will line up. Yehor Yarmoliuk looks the natural holding option, which frees Sangare to push further forward and cause problems higher up the pitch. Saintfiet even reckons he'd fit at Barcelona thanks to his passing and composure under pressure.
The goals angle
Here's where it gets interesting for anyone who likes a goalscorer market. Only two players in Ligue 1 attempted more shots from outside the box than the Lens man last season, and he's already off the mark for his new club - opening his Brentford account with a long-range strike in a 7-0 pre-season win over Eintracht Frankfurt.
Saintfiet thinks there's more in the tank. "I think he can score a few more goals a season," he said, adding that Sangare is almost too unselfish and could stand to shoot more himself. Three, four, five goals a season from midfield would be a decent return.
For bettors, that's the thing to watch: a midfielder who arrives cheap in the anytime-scorer and shots markets while people get to know him, but who clearly has the range to punish keepers. Whether that hype builds early depends on how quickly he adapts to the Premier League's tempo.
Settling in
The one caveat is intensity. The Premier League is faster and more physical than Ligue 1, and even the best imports need a settling-in spell. That said, Sangare didn't need one at Lens after arriving from Rapid Vienna - he was an immediate hit there.
Saintfiet's parting line tells you where he thinks this is heading. "Brentford is a good step... but for me, knowing Mamadou Sangare, Brentford is not his final destination. He can reach the top in England."
Brentford host Spurs this Saturday, kick-off 5.30pm. First proper look, and a decent early test.
Sources:
If this changes where you play, the community keeps its thread on UK casino sites up to date.
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