Brentford aren’t wasting any time replacing one of their top attacking wingers from a season ago.
On Saturday, the Bees signed Dango Ouattara (23) from AFC Bournemouth, with the winger from Burkina Faso committing to the West London club until 2030, with an option for an additional year. He’ll have a lot of expectations on his shoulders, having signed for a club record fee of £42.5m, which is nearly €50m.
Before joining the Cherries in January 2023, Ouattara played two seasons at FC Lorient in Ligue 1, netting six times in 18 top-flight appearances for them in 2022-23 before leaving for England in the winter transfer window.
The 23-year-old has made 30 appearances for the Burkina Faso national team, scoring 10 times. He is expected to replace Yoane Wissa (28) as Brentford’s starting winger this season, with the French-born player left out of the squad for the Bees’ Premier League opener on Sunday against Nottingham Forest. Although Wissa has not officially left, he’s been heavily linked to numerous clubs this summer, with Newcastle United the ones that appear to have the inside track on signing him.
Brentford will be featuring in the top flight for a fifth successive campaign this time around. However, Ouattara comes into a team that many are expecting will be near the bottom of the table after manager Thomas Frank left to join Tottenham Hotspur.
Keith Andrews was named as Frank’s replacement at Brentford, having previously served as the club’s set-piece coach under the Danish boss last season. In their 2024-25 campaign, Ouattara netted the fourth-most goals for Bournemouth in the Premier League, with seven, while also adding four assists.
GFFN | Joel Lefevre