‘Everything a team needs’: What those who know Sangaré best say about Brentford’s record signing | OneFootball

Brentford have completed the signing of Mali international Mamadou Sangaré from French club RC Lens.

The 24-year-old moves to west London following an outstanding 2025/26 campaign, helping Lens finish second in Ligue 1 and qualify for the Champions League. He was also named in the division’s Team of the Season and voted the best African player in the French top flight.

His transfer to the Bees marks the latest step in a career that began at Yeelen Olympique in Bamako and has included spells in Austria, Belgium and France.

Here, those who have coached, recruited, selected and played alongside Sangaré explain what Brentford can expect from their new midfielder.

Pierre Sage

Sangaré’s former head coach at Lens

“He is effective both in winning the ball and in carrying the game forward. That is rare today.

“Usually, you have one or the other. He has both.

“He has a very positive relationship with the game. He is a joyful player in the sense that he is very positive in what he does because, as soon as he has the ball, he wants to play.

“It is very easy to welcome a player like that and integrate him into a team.”

Markus Schopp

Sangaré’s former head coach at Hartberg

“Mamadou took an enormous step forward in his career with us. He became much more consistent and was impossible to imagine the team without.

“He was rewarded with a call-up for the Under-23s Africa Cup of Nations, where he captained the team and had a very good tournament.

“Mamadou is a real asset to our game, both against the ball and in possession, through his personality and through what he gives us in the dressing room.”

Jean-Louis Leca

Lens sporting director

“Mamadou is an influential midfielder both defensively and offensively.”

Samson Baidoo

Sangaré’s former team-mate at Salzburg and Lens

“He is there when he does not have the ball and he is there when he has it.

“He tries to score. He runs a lot. It is everything a team needs.

“And he has a very funny personality. He is a great guy.”

Malang Sarr

Ex-Chelsea defender and Sangaré’s former Lens team-mate

“I had already heard a little about him because I know some of his team-mates with Mali.

“From the first training session, everything positive I had been told about him was confirmed. He is quite impressive in his maturity.

“He is not afraid to ask for the ball or to play. He likes duels in both directions, offensively and defensively. He has the ability to construct moves and also to finish them. That is quite rare for a midfielder.

“When you watch him, you see there is much more to his game than his left foot. He is capable of doing beautiful things with it.

“We know left-footed players can be a little different, especially with his attacking qualities. He can take players on, carry the ball and shoot.”

Frédéric Kanouté

Former Mali international and ex-Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Sevilla forward

“His technical qualities stood out immediately. He had vision and an ease that the others did not have.”

Robert Klauß

Sangaré’s former head coach at Rapid Vienna

“Once you had seen his performances for Hartberg, you did not have to think for long. It was clear that, if there was a chance to get him, we had to sign him.

“He always finds good solutions on the ball.”

Tom Saintfiet

Former Mali head coach

“Some players are physically strong, intelligent or technically strong. He has almost everything.

“What strikes me most is his intelligence. He knows the game and reads it. When he has the ball, he always finds a good solution.

“He is a star, even if he does not act like one, because he is very humble.”

Nicolas Fernandez

Technical consultant at Sangaré’s former academy Yeelen Olympique

“He had an incredible ability to feint. You thought the ball was there, but it had already gone somewhere else.”