Brentford confirmed the signing of Mali midfielder Mamadou Sangare from Lens for a club record fee. According to Evening Standard, The player moves in a deal worth around €45million (£38.5m), eclipsing the fee laid out for Dango Ouattara last summer. The 24-year-old joins on a five-year contract, with an option for a further year.
Sangare, 24, already has 16 senior international caps to his name and featured at AFCON last summer. He joins a well-established Brentford midfield which already features the likes of Mathias Jensen, Mikkel Damsgaard and Yehor Yarmoliuk.
"Mamadou is someone that we've tracked for quite some time. He's been on our radar and was a player we were really keen to bring in," Brentford head coach Keith Andrews said. "Last season was a huge season for him following a couple of loan spells during which he developed. At Lens, he performed at such a consistently high level for a team that finished second in the league. "Added to that was his form for Mali, where he became a really key player for them."
"From the conversations I've had with him, he's very keen to come here. He's a humble young man, but he's equally as determined to succeed in his career," Andrews added. Andrews continued: “He’s a player that adds to a really good midfield that we already have; he also adds qualities that we don’t have. He complements the current midfield. “He fits everything we want from a Brentford player, on and off the pitch. He’ll be a player that I think will become very, very popular with the fans.” He will hope to make his debut next week, when Brentford face Rennes in a pre-season friendly at Roazhon Park.