Brentford’s £50m gamble on Mamadou Sangare already looks like a bargain

Brentford’s club-record signing Mamadou Sangare needed only 90 minutes to suggest that their investment of almost €50m could prove one of the smartest deals of the summer transfer window.

The 24-year-old midfielder impressed on his Premier League debut against Tottenham Hotspur, providing the assist for Brentford’s first goal of the new season and quickly winning over supporters who had been asking themselves: who is Mamadou Sangare?

By the end of the match, Brentford fans had already created a song for him. During the midfielder’s lap of honour, Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance with Somebody was played over the stadium speakers, prompting supporters to sing: “Oh, I want to dance with Sangare.”

It was a remarkably fast start for a player who had cost Brentford more than twice their previous transfer record. Before this summer, the Bees had spent more than €35m on a player only once.

Sangare joined from RC Lens in a deal worth €48m, according to a post circulated on social media, while reports described the overall fee as just under €50m.

His opening performance also attracted immediate attention from the media. The Athletic wrote: “Brentford midfielder Sangare was without doubt the most impressive player on his debut.”

“He looked brilliant because he is brilliant.”

The publication added: “This was supposed to be the day Sandro Tonali showed why Tottenham broke their transfer record by paying £100m for him. But he was completely overshadowed by Sangare, who cost half that amount.”

It described the Mali international as “an excellent all-round midfielder” with “the technical skills and physical attributes of a Premier League player”, concluding that Brentford appeared to have found another “hidden gem”.

The signing is particularly notable because it contrasts with the spending frenzy that dominated English football last summer. Premier League clubs collectively spent more than €4bn, while more than half of the teams in the division broke their own transfer records.

More than £500m was spent on deadline day alone. Enzo Fernandez’s move to Manchester City for €145m, matching the most expensive English transfer of all time, was the headline deal of the window. Four of the six most expensive signings in Premier League history were completed during the summer, and deals worth €100m or more became increasingly common.

Yet the scale of that spending does not guarantee success. Clubs have repeatedly moved between the Premier League and the second tier despite investing heavily. For teams outside the established elite, sound management is often a more reliable route to stability.

Brighton & Hove Albion, who returned to the Premier League in 2017 after a 34-year absence, are one example. The club has become an established top-flight side under owner Tony Bloom, a mathematician, professional poker player and owner of Brighton, Union Saint-Gilloise and Hearts.

Bloom’s methods have been widely discussed, but Brentford owner Matthew Benham has followed a similar path. Benham also made his fortune in betting after a career in investment banking, founding Smartodds, a company that supplies data and advice to gamblers.

The pair have not spoken for more than two decades. Benham previously worked for Bloom at the betting company Premier Bet before setting up Smartodds in 2004, and Bloom reportedly felt betrayed when his employee adopted a similar business model.

Their relationship is a side issue, however. The important point for football is that the statistical models used by both men, based on databases containing as many as 100,000 players, can be applied successfully to running clubs.

From Mali to the Premier League

The data-led approach at Brighton and Brentford has produced major sporting and financial rewards. Brentford’s recent succession of forwards illustrates the model: Neal Maupay was replaced by Ollie Watkins, followed by Ivan Toney, Yoane Wissa, Bryan Mbeumo and Igor Thiago.

Those transfers generated hundreds of millions for the club. Sangare is now the latest example of a relatively unknown player being identified before reaching the wider football market.

The midfielder made his breakthrough on the global stage last season at RC Lens, runners-up in Ligue 1. He was one of the few players outside Paris Saint-Germain to be named in the league’s team of the season.

Known since childhood by the nickname “La Gauche Magique”, or “the magic left foot”, Sangare grew up in Bamako, the capital of Mali. As a young boy, he joined Yeelen Olympique, one of the country’s best football academies.

“He was always the best in his class,” Mohamed Lamine Fofana, better known as Lams, told RFI. Lams led Yeelen Olympique for 11 years.

“At five in the morning, three hours before lessons started, he would get up to train alone. He wanted it more than the others,” Lams said.

The magazine described Sangare as “elegant” and “creative”, although Lams recalled that he “was not the type who wanted to get his trousers dirty”.

“He was a genuine number 10, but he did not like winning the ball back in his own half,” Lams said.

That aspect of his game has changed significantly. Sangare is now regarded as one of Europe’s finest ball-winners. No player in Ligue 1 made more successful tackles last season, while nobody recovered possession more often in the middle third.

He also won 159 ground duels, the third-highest total in the division, and was a regular threat from distance. Only two Ligue 1 players attempted more shots from outside the penalty area.

“He started as a number 10 and his game was more attacking,” said Amadou Haidara, who played with Sangare at RC Lens and for Mali.

“Now he is a midfielder who moves between defence and attack, but he can even play as a defensive midfielder. Technically, I find him very strong, and now he is scoring goals too. For me, he is a complete midfielder.”

Sangare’s progress, however, was gradual. He was considered one of Mali’s biggest teenage talents and signed a five-year contract with Red Bull Salzburg, but the Austrian club did not believe he was ready to play regularly for their senior side.

“It was not easy when I signed my first contract in Salzburg,” Sangare later said. “I had to get used to the language, the culture and the way football was played in Europe.”

He subsequently spent four loan spells at FC Liefering, Belgian club Zulte Waregem, and Austrian sides Grazer AK and TSV Hartberg.

His performances at Hartberg attracted Rapid Vienna, who were impressed by the midfielder’s fluent German. The club promised not to block his progress if a bigger opportunity arrived.

At 22, Sangare enjoyed his breakthrough season in Vienna. Markus Katzer, sporting director of Austria’s record champions, told The Athletic: “He is extremely strong technically. He dribbles and always finds solutions in the smallest spaces. The way he wins the ball is his greatest strength.”

“He is a mix between a number six and a number eight, and he was constantly working to improve himself. He was addicted to getting better.”

Katzer also remembered Sangare as a modest character who regularly arrived at training in Crocs and on an electric bicycle.

His performances earned him a move to France, with RC Lens paying €8m. He made an immediate impact, anchoring the midfield as Lens pushed Paris Saint-Germain hard in the league and won the Coupe de France.

Brentford’s latest success story

Success inevitably brought interest from elsewhere, and Sangare had several offers to consider. He chose Brentford despite competition from major clubs.

“I spoke to him in recent months,” said Belgian manager Tom Saintfiet, who has also managed Mali, in an interview with Sky Sports.

“At the time, there were other Premier League names, the real big powers. He is confident on the ball and intelligent with his passing. Of course, he is very strong at winning the ball back, but he has many other qualities that are important in modern football.”

“Put him in the Barcelona team and he would have an important role there too because of his style of play. But Brentford is a good step. They have repeatedly shown that they can discover players who are unknown elsewhere in England. But I do not think Brentford is his final destination. He will reach the top of English football.”

Brentford supporters are already convinced they have found another outstanding player. The i Paper wrote: “Excitement is bubbling inside the club. They have the same squad as last year, but have replaced Jordan Henderson with N’Golo Kante.”

Against a backdrop in which Enzo Fernandez, Morgan Rogers, Elliot Anderson, Sandro Tonali, Matheus Fernandes and Ayoub Bouaddi all moved for more than €100m, Brentford’s decision to spend around €50m on Sangare is already beginning to look like a profitable one.