Premier League outfit Brentford have secured the signing of Sampdoria’s Danish sensation Mikkel Damsgaard for a fee of around £13.5m after talks burned on between the two sides throughout the past few weeks.
The Bees, who lost Christian Eriksen to Manchester United on a free transfer this summer after having the Spurs legend for six months, have plugged the gap with the astute signing of 22-year-old Damsgaard, who has impressed in Serie A for the last two seasons.
Despite being injured between October and April with a thigh injury, fellow countryman and new boss Thomas Frank has seen enough in the youngster to have sanctioned a deal, and he will join new arrivals Keane Lewis-Potter, Aaron Hickey and Ben Mee in west London as the Bees continue to strengthen their ranks.
The loss of Eriksen will hit hard at the Brentford Community Stadium after his influence played a key part in their survival in the second half of the season, and Frank believes that the new signing is another ‘classic Brentford signing’ for him to build his squad around ahead of the long campaign that lies ahead.
“Mikkel is, in my opinion, another classic Brentford signing. He is a young player with big potential to develop further,” Frank told the club’s official website.
“We know we can help Mikkel reach his highest level, we have the staff here that have experience in doing that and we are looking forward to working with him.
“Mikkel is a player that has shown his promise at FC Nordsjælland and Sampdoria as well as in the European Championships last summer, when he had a fantastic tournament for Denmark.
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“He has been unlucky with injuries in the past year, but we have already seen that he is an extremely skillful player, who can run with the ball and move it well. He is aware of the space around him and plays on the half turn. He also wants to play forward and can do so by either passing or dribbling.”
The acquisition takes Brentford’s spending to just under £50m, with another three weeks left in the transfer window.