Jordan Henderson's Impact at Brentford and the Arrival of Mamadou Sangare
Jordan Henderson may have left Brentford after only a brief spell, but the mark he made inside that dressing room still lingers.
Nathan Collins has seen enough leaders in his career to know when one is different. When he spoke to Sky Sports about his former team-mate, he didn’t dwell on the CV or the medals. He went straight to the person.
“The main thing is him as a person. It was a short stint, but I think he really enjoyed his time here,” Collins said, before lifting the curtain on what Henderson was really like day to day.
By the end of the season, the former Liverpool captain had fully stamped his character on the squad. He mixed with everyone. He talked, he listened, he set a tone. Around the training ground, he was present, approachable, and relentlessly demanding.
“He showed his true colours by the end of the season – who he is and what he’s about. He got on with everyone, he had a really good attitude and looked forward to talking to people. And his standards on the pitch were a really big thing. He drove them, and he had a high set of standards. He really drove training a lot.”
That, more than any single performance, is what Brentford now have to replace. The sessions he pushed. The tempo he insisted on. The non-negotiables he left behind.
Collins didn’t hide that losing that presence hurts. “It’s tough that he’s gone,” he admitted. But he quickly pointed to the resilience of the group and the foundations Henderson helped lay. “We have a few players who can step into that role and help out. What he’s left from last season, I think that will continue.”
Brentford haven’t waited around to find the next figure to anchor their midfield. The club moved decisively, breaking their transfer record with a £41m deal to bring Mamadou Sangare in from Lens.
At 23, Sangare arrives with achievements rather than promises. He played a central role as Lens lifted the Coupe de France and finished last season with the highest number of possession recoveries in Ligue 1. That statistic alone tells you what kind of midfielder Brentford think they’ve bought: aggressive, alert, constantly alive to danger.
Collins has already had a close-up view and likes what he sees.
“He brings a lot of energy. He brings a lot of tackles and forward-thinking passes. He’s just a really good footballer and a smart footballer,” the defender said.
There’s another important detail. Sangare has stepped into a new league, a new country, and removed one of the biggest barriers instantly.
“He speaks really good English so he’s settled in really nicely and to have him in front of you, it’ll be a big help for all players.”
Henderson’s voice may have gone from the training pitch, but the standards he set have not. Now Brentford are betting that Sangare’s legs, brain and bite can carry that legacy into a new phase.
