Mamadou Sangare could have been playing Champions League football this week. After all, the signs point to him being an elite-level player. Not only did the midfielder star for RC Lens last season - playing a key role as they finished as Ligue 1 runners-up and French Cup champions - but there were major European clubs eyeing up his signature over the summer.
And not just major clubs, the elite of the elite. Yet he turned them down for a club-record move to a Brentford team without European football this season. "Yeah it's true," he tells Sky Sports from Brentford's training ground about that interest.
"But I'm not going to give any names, out of respect. "There were a lot of clubs. For me, the most important thing was to know where I could progress.
And Brentford was the best place for my development. "A coach who really wanted me was something that was important to me. That's why I chose Brentford." It is fair to say Sangare had earned a big move.
As well as his club success with Lens, he was also named in the Ligue 1 Team of the Year at the age of 24, pipping Paris Saint-Germain duo Joao Neves and Fabian Ruiz to a midfield spot. So was it hard to say no to some of the major European clubs? "No, it wasn't difficult," he replies.
"Just because a big club comes calling, it doesn't mean you have to say yes to it. You have to see a lot of different aspects. "I'm a little different from other players because I see things differently.
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