Collins Praises Henderson’s Impact as Brentford Welcomes Sangare

Jordan Henderson may have only spent a short spell at Brentford, but his influence still hangs in the dressing room.

Nathan Collins, speaking to Sky Sports, painted the picture of a senior pro who arrived late in his career yet refused to coast.

“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 the standards Henderson demanded every day.

“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 last line tells the story. Henderson didn’t just turn up, train, and go home. He set the tempo. He dragged sessions up to his level. For a relatively young Brentford squad, that kind of presence doesn’t just disappear when the player walks out the door.

“It’s tough that he’s gone,” Collins admitted, “but 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 reference point in midfield. The club moved decisively, smashing their transfer record with a £41m deal for Mamadou Sangare from Lens.

At 23, Sangare arrives with something Henderson brought in a different way: reliability. He helped Lens lift the Coupe de France and finished last season with the highest number of possession recoveries in Ligue 1, a statistic that underlines exactly why Brentford were willing to go big.

Collins already sounds relieved to have him in front of the back line.

“He brings a lot of energy. He brings a lot of tackles and forward-thinking passes,” the defender said. “He’s just a really good footballer and a smart footballer. 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 and example may echo for a while yet, but with Sangare now anchoring the next phase of Thomas Frank’s midfield, Brentford’s engine room is being rebuilt on the fly – and with purpose.