'The sky is the limit': How Brentford found Mamadou Sangare, a diamond in an inflated Premier League market

The marketplace for midfielders has ne'er been truthful costly successful the Premier League. Of the league's apical 10 signings successful the transportation model that has conscionable closed, 7 are midfielders. Three of them (Enzo Fernandez, Elliot Anderson and Sandro Tonali) outgo much than £100m. None, however, has shone arsenic brightly arsenic a young Brentford subordinate who outgo little than fractional that amount.

Mamadou Sangare was 1 of the slightest talked-about transfers of the window. He arrived for a club-record interest for the Bees, £33m, an magnitude that whitethorn lone look ample wrong the world of the westbound London club. His interaction successful conscionable 2 matchdays, however, already shows that it was a bargain paid to Lens.

The antiaircraft midfielder, calved successful Mali, needed small clip to amusement that helium has each the makings of a people for the biggest clubs successful English football. He is already being talked up arsenic a subordinate the Big Six's scouting departments allowed to gaffe done the net. The excitement whitethorn look premature fixed however small helium has played, but it is justified.

Sangare outshone Tottenham's millionaire midfield

So far, Sangare has shown helium tin bash it each successful midfield: arsenic a No 5, a No 8 oregon adjacent a No 10. Deeper connected the pitch, helium has shown prime with abbreviated dribbles and the carnal spot to flight unit and nonstop attacks. Further forward, helium has shown attacking powerfulness and method quality. Off the ball, helium is an assertive subordinate who steps up the property and forces duels.

On his Premier League debut, a 3-0 triumph implicit Tottenham, the 24-year-old showed precisely what helium had travel for. He dictated the tempo adjacent against an hostile that had invested heavy successful precisely his position, with Tottenham fielding the midfield pairing of Tonali, the 3rd astir costly midfielder of the window, and Matheus Fernandes, who outgo £85m.

The caller team-mate of Brazilian guardant Igor Thiago astatine Brentford was decisive successful gathering the scoreline against Spurs. After conscionable 11 minutes, helium received the shot successful midfield, played a one-two with Dango Ouattara to burst into the container and delivered a perfectly weighted transverse for Keane Lewis-Potter. In the 2nd half, helium appeared successful the container to sprout from a country and unit the rebound that led to Michael Kayode's 3rd extremity of the afternoon.

"I deliberation the nine merit a batch of recognition for getting that woody done. A batch of clubs, I'm sure, were looking astatine Mamadou," said Bees caput manager Keith Andrews aft the triumph implicit Tottenham.

A show of that level, against elite players established successful the biggest league successful the world, sent a message. And it was a connection that continued successful the matches that followed. In the League Cup, adjacent with constricted clip disconnected the bench, helium shone. From a abbreviated corner, helium appeared astatine the borderline of the container to power the shot with his close ft (his weaker foot) and transverse perfectly with his near for Nathan Collins' goal.

In the 1-1 gully with a stubborn Leeds United broadside past weekend, helium continued to beryllium decisive going forward. It was from a changeable of his, blocked astatine the borderline of the box, that the shot fell to Lewis-Potter, who acceptable up Kevin Schade's goal.

"He's adapted really, truly well. You ne'er genuinely cognize — antithetic league, antithetic language, adjacent though his English is beauteous impeccable. Just a humble young antheral that's very, precise hungry," said Andrews.

At the extremity of 2 matchdays successful the biggest league successful the world, Sangare ranks among the leaders successful tackles (six), interceptions (five), cardinal passes (four) and crushed duels won (11). These are numbers that exemplify however the subordinate dominates antithetic areas of the game. It is simply a presumption that erstwhile team-mates besides share.

'Sangare is simply a premix of a No 5 and a No 8'

The young Malian began his shot travel successful his location state and stood retired capable to drawback the attraction of Red Bull, who signed him via Salzburg, successful Austria, earlier loaning him retired to FC Liefering, besides portion of the energy-drink company's network. He went connected to play for 2 much Austrian clubs, arsenic good arsenic Belgium's Zulte Waregem, earlier establishing himself astatine Rapid Vienna, wherever helium was already turning heads.

"He is precise beardown technically, helium tin dribble and ever finds solutions successful very, precise choky spaces," said Markus Katzer, the Vienna club's CEO, successful a diagnostic connected the subordinate by The Athletic. "The mode helium wins the shot backmost is his top quality. He is simply a premix of a No 5 and a No 8."

It was successful the Austrian superior that Sangare received his archetypal call-up to the Mali nationalist team, nether erstwhile caput manager Tom Saintfiet. "He is the caller star, the caller diamond of Malian football," said the coach, who remained successful complaint of Mali until past April, successful the aforesaid feature.

After shining successful Vienna, the midfielder made the leap to a large European league. In conscionable 1 play astatine Lens, helium was named successful the Ligue 1 Team of the Season for the club's runners-up run and was sold for astir 4 times what helium had cost.

There, adjacent with players from giants PSG arsenic competition, helium led the league successful mean antiaircraft contributions per 90 minutes (14.2), a fig that would besides person made him the person successful past season's Premier League.

His beardown signifier astatine Brentford is simply a continuation of what has been happening implicit the past fewer years. If helium keeps up this pace, the young Malian planetary has each accidental of becoming 1 of the astir talked-about names successful the adjacent transportation window.

"Given the prime helium has and however young helium is, the entity is the bounds for Sangare," recalled Roland Puchas, spokesperson for Austrian nine TSV Hartberg, whom the midfielder erstwhile represented, besides speaking to The Athletic.