It’s September 2024, and Mamadou Sangare has been called up to the Mali squad for the very first time. As is normal in modern football, new players have to do an initiation song while stood on top of a chair.<\/p>\n
As Yves Bissouma introduced him onto the ‘stage’, the Mali captain asked Sangare what position he’d like to play in the team.<\/p>\n
“Yours,” Sangare told Bissouma, in a big, bold statement.<\/p>\n
“I loved that,” Tom Saintfiet, the Mali manager at the time, tells Sky Sports<\/em>. “He’s an open, intelligent person – and confident. He knows what he can do.”<\/p>\n Sangare did not end up taking Bissouma’s national team spot – they played alongside each other in the Mali team – but the 24-year-old has taken his place as Mali’s big talent in the Premier League.<\/p>\n Brentford take on Tottenham Hotspur in the opening day of the season and Sangare will take to the field as the Bees’ new record signing. Bissouma – released by Spurs this summer and still without a club – will not.<\/p>\n The Mali midfielder joining Brentford for \u00a339m was deemed quite a coup for the west London club. Sangare was one of RC Lens’ most important players as they finished second in Ligue 1 and won the French Cup.<\/p>\n He was subsequently named in Ligue 1’s Team of the Year, over Joao Neves and Fabian Ruiz.<\/p>\n \n Put him in Barcelona’s team,\u00a0and he will have an important role<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/e0.365dm.com\/26\/08\/768x432\/skysports-sangare-brentford_7315488.jpg\")
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