Football League World
·14 January 2021
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·14 January 2021
Brentford have today confirmed the permanent signing of attacker Saman Ghoddos from French club Amiens.
The 22-cap Iran international joined on a loan deal back in September, with the expectation that he was to replace the future outgoing of Said Benrahma, who went on to join West Ham United.
It’s been a struggle for the 27-year-old to establish himself in the Bees’ line-up though, as Thomas Frank has restricted him to just five starts out of his 16 league appearances.
Ghoddos is yet to break his Championship goalscoring duck either, but he played a major part in Brentford’s progression into the fourth round of the FA Cup, scoring and assisting in their 2-1 victory over Middlesbrough.
There was always an option to turn the season-long loan into a permanent deal, and Brentford have acted early to make it official.
The performance of Ghoddos against Boro may mean a more regular run in the starting line-up, but his challenger Sergi Canos has been in good form recently, including notching a hat-trick away at Cardiff City.
Fans are speculating that the fee is in the region of £5 million, which is steep considering his record currently this season, but his performance at the weekend may have opened the floodgates for further success.
The Verdict
This is a bit of a different signing for Brentford in terms of their usual model – the likes of Benrahma, Neal Maupay, Ollie Watkins and Bryan Mbeumo have been in their early 20’s or teens when joining the Bees and have had huge resale value.
The same can’t be said for Ghoddos, who is now in his prime but could still fetch a decent fee if he goes on a scoring streak for the West London outfit, but he is very unlikely to make Brentford a £20 million profit down the line.
What Thomas Frank can hope for though is for the Iranian to replicate his most recent showing and do it consistently for the rest of the season – and a link-up with Ivan Toney could prove deadly if both men are on their best form.