Brentford sign Dango Ouattara for club-record fee | OneFootball

Brentford have completed the signing of Dango Ouattara from fellow Premier League side Bournemouth for a club-record fee.

The forward has signed a five-year contract, with a club option of an additional year.

The 23-year-old recorded 18 goal contributions in 81 top-flight games for the Cherries, having joined in January 2023.

Keith Andrews, Brentford head coach, said: “We’re really happy to get Dango in. He’s someone that we were aware and surprised could be available and, once we knew that signing him might be a possibility, we really focused on trying to get him in.

“We liked his Premier League experience, even at his young age, and he just hasn’t found the rhythm yet because of a lack of consistent game time.

“He also suits the way we want to play - he has something that we were lacking in the forward line, and he will complement what we already have in the building.

“The fans will love him; he’s the type of player that they will get off their seat for.”

Phil Giles, Brentford director of football, added: “Having sold Bryan Mbeumo, we have been looking to add an attacking player to the squad, and we think Dango is the perfect addition.

“It’s been well documented that there has been more change over this summer than in recent years at the club; however, I’m very confident that, in each case where a player has left us, we have managed to bring in an extremely strong replacement, and Dango is the latest example of that.

“We also have players such as Aaron Hickey, Rico Henry and Igor Thiago who are fit and ready, and also players such as Frank Onyeka who have benefitted from a loan last season, so I think the squad is looking very strong.

“I’m really excited to see Dango on the pitch and bringing his unique skillset to the team.”

Born in the capital city of Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou, Ouattara began his career in the academy system of Majestic.

In the Burkinabé Premier League, he scored five goals in 11 games as a teenager, which sparked interest from European clubs.

Ouattara joined French side Lorient in the summer of 2020, spending his first season in the reserve team in National 2.

In his breakthrough season for the first team, the forward made 25 appearances in Ligue 1, scoring his first goal in April 2022 against Metz.

His form earned him a spot in the Burkina Faso side for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, scoring the winning goal against Tunisia in the quarter-final. That is one of 10 goals he has scored in 30 caps for his country.

Ouattara continued his good form into the 2022/23 campaign, and he became a key man for Lorient as they pushed for European qualification.

He scored six goals in 18 games for the Les Merlus that term, also adding six assists, before joining Bournemouth in January 2023.

In his three seasons on the south coast, he scored 11 goals and provided nine assists in 88 matches in all competitions, which included a hat-trick against Nottingham Forest last season.