Mamadou Sangaré: Lens' next great midfielder
With Lens flying at the top of Ligue 1 McDonald's, the club's shrewd summer transfer business will need to take much of the credit. Learn more about one key arrival, Malian international midfielder Mamadou Sangaré in our latest One To Watch.
From the streets of Bamako to the (Austrian) Bundesliga
There's been no shortage of top-level midfielders developed by RC Lens over the years. From recent departures Andy Diouf and Neil El Aynaoui, to legends like Alou Diarra and Seydou Keita to more recent departures like Cheick Doucouré and Séko Fofana, the Stade Bollaert has been a regular factory for some time now. After losing both Diouf and Aynaoui this summer, the pressure was squarely on Le Sang et Or to unearth their next gem in the position, and they appear to have done just that with the young Malian Mamadou Sangaré.
Born in the country's capital city of Bamako, he came up through the ranks at Yeelen Olympique. Formed in 2003, the club has built itself an esteemed reputation for giving young Malians opportunities, and boasts none other than Fréderic Kanouté as an ambassador. His promise was spotted there by RB Salzburg, but despite signing in 2020, he wouldn't feature for the first team regularly until last season, spending a succession of loans with other clubs in the country. Besides his impressive displays on loan, he also helped Mali to win bronze in the U-23 AFCON in 2023, playing alongside former Metz midfielder Boubacar Traoré.
Mamadou Sangaré. 23 years old. A huge prospect! 🇲🇱💎 pic.twitter.com/2eG9wDUIku
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) November 8, 2025
Quickly a success in Ligue 1
Arriving this summer for €8M, investment in him hardly represented an eye-watering sum, but he was still the club's fifth-most expensive signing of all time, and would have an outsize role to play in Pierre Sage's adventurous football, partnering with the more attack-minded Adrien Thomasson. He's responded to this pressure with aplomb -- not only are Lens top of the table, no one in the division has made more tackles than Sangaré, something which has gone a long way to Le Sang et Or also sporting the best defence.
A compact but rangy 1.81m, the left-footed Sangaré is a true box-to-box player, complementing his tackling nous with a goal and an assist along the way. Speaking of his player as being preternaturally mature and a complete presence on the pitch, Sage recently said. “He is both impactful in the recovery, phase but also in getting himself forward. It is very rare to find young players who have this sort of profile. He has a very positive relationship with the game. He is thus very easy to integrate into a collective, because he quickly understands what a given match requires."
Indeed, his complete play (he also ranks second among Europe's Top 5 leagues in recoveries per match) has already earned him comparisons to Keita, something that is both humbling and an honor for a player who looks set to earn far more than the nine caps he's garnered for his country to date. “Being compared to Seydou Keita is something very big for me. I know I’m missing things in my play, but it’s an extra motivation to work harder." If that motivation continues, he may be soon spoken about in the same breath as Kanouté and Keita as one of the best Malians to play the game.
