Mamadou Sangare has made a strong start to life in the Premier League. Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images Mamadou Sangare has challenged Brentford to cause a "real surprise" and push for a top two finish in the Premier League this season.
The Bees are currently fourth in the table after six matches, five points behind second-place Arsenal. They are yet to taste defeat this season, and have picked up eye-catching wins over Tottenham and Chelsea.
The west London club, who were promoted to the Premier League for the first time in 2021, have defied the odds to firmly establish themselves in the top flight.
Despite the departure of long-term boss Thomas Frank last season, they finished ninth and only narrowly missed out on qualifying for Europe for the first time in their history.
Brentford's rise has been built on the back of their refined scouting abilities, through which they spot and develop players that go under the radar of other clubs. Sangare, who signed from Lens this summer on a club-record deal, appears to be the next player in this pipeline.
The midfielder has caught the eye with his tough-tackling performances this season. Like him, the club have begun the season strongly and Sangare feels they are ready to take the next step in their ascent.
"The goal is to reach Europe and win as many games as possible," he said in an interview to Sky Sports.
"We know that Brentford has never played a European game before.
"Why can't we also reach the top four, or the top two? Why can't we cause a real surprise? Because we're a good team in the league. We have a very good team with very good players, with a great coach as well."
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A host of elite clubs were in the market for a deep-lying midfielder this summer and Sangare's start for Brenford has raised questions over how he was overlooked by them.
However, the 24-year-old has said he received approaches for other clubs but spurned them in favour of the Bees.
"Yeah it's true [interest from big European clubs]," he said.
"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.