Mikkel Damsgaard is closing in on £16m move to Brentford from Serie A side Sampdoria, according to the Mail.
Having lost out to Manchester United in the race to re-sign Christian Eriksen, Bees boss Thomas Frank has earmarked Damsgaard as his compatriot’s replacement.
The 22-year-old is no stranger to replacing the former Ajax, Tottenham Hotspur and Inter Milan playmaker after coming into Denmark’s starting line-up at last summer’s European Championships, after Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest in the Dane’s opening group stage game.
Damsgaard started all five of Denmark’s corresponding matches which saw them reach the semi-finals and he opened the scoring against England in the last-four clash with a piledriver of a free-kick.
Depending on when the 16-time Denmark international’s move to west London is completed – he could make his Bees debut in Brentford’s Premier League opener against Leicester City on Sunday.
With Mikkel Damsgaard close to following in the footsteps of Brentford’s former influential number 21, HITC Sport takes a look at five former Sampdoria stars that moved to the Premier League.
Former Sampdoria stars that moved to the Premier League
Juan Sebastian Veron – Manchester United and Chelsea
Following a move from Argentine giants Boca Juniors, Veron spent two seasons at Sampdoria before signing for Parma.
After a solitary campaign with the I Crociati, Veron reunited with his former Sampdoria manager Sven-Goran Eriksson having been signed by Lazio.
Veron won four trophies under the stewardship of the former England manager before Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United paid £28.1m in July 2001 to make the Argentine the most expensive signing in British football history.
The South American’s best performances for the Red Devils often came in the Champions League when the tempo was a slot slower and the playmaker seemingly had more time on the ball.
Veron made 82 appearances for Manchester United, scoring 11 goals and supplying 15 assists. He was part of the 2002-03 Premier League winning side.
After two seasons at Old Trafford, United’s former number four signed for rivals Chelsea where he spent a campaign before returning to Italy via a two-year loan move to Inter Milan.
The 72-time Argentina international finished his career with his boyhood club Estudiantes.
Lucas Torreira – Arsenal
The Gunners spent £26m to sign the Uruguayan from Sampdoria in 2018 after the midfielder played 74 times for the Italian outfit.
However, since moving to the Emirates, the 26-year-old has spent the last two seasons out on loan with Atletico Madrid and Fiorentina.
The defensive midfielder doesn’t form part of Mikel Arteta’s plans and the Gunners have agreed a deal with Galatasaray to sell Torreira this summer, but according to Fabrizio Romano the Turkish side are waiting for the green light from the South American.
Torreira played 89 times for Arsenal but it looks like his time in north London is coming to an end.
Dennis Praet – Leicester City
The Foxes paid Sampdoria £18m to sign the former Anderlecht midfielder in August 2019. But the 15-time Belgium international has struggled to nail down a starting berth under Brendan Rodgers.
Competing against the likes of Wilfred Ndidi, Youri Tielemans and James Maddison has resulted in Praet being more of an impact player from the bench.
The 28-year-old spent last season on loan at Torino and it remains to be seen whether the midfielder will still be at the King Power Stadium once the summer transfer window has shut.
Leicester’s number 26 played over 100 times for Sampdoria and he’s amassed 60 appearances for the former Premier League winners.
Shkodran Mustafi – Levante
The World Cup winner has had quite the fall from grace and he’s currently gearing up a season in the second tier of Spanish football having suffered relegation with Levante last season.
Sampdoria signed the German defender from Everton in January 2012 and Mustafi spent two-and-a-half years in Italy before moving to La Liga side Valencia.
Mustafi’s performances for Los Ches caught Arsenal’s attention and the Gunners paid more than £35m to sign him from the Mestalla.
The 20-time German international may have won two FA Cups during his time at the Emirates but there were several times where he was a complete liability.
The 30-year-old played 151 times for the north Londoners before joining Schalke.
Bruno Fernandes – Manchester United
Without a doubt saving the best to the last – we have United’s Portuguese ‘Magnifico’. The Red Devils new number eight has been a shining light at Old Trafford ever since he made his £67.7m switch from Sporting Lisbon in January 2020.
The 27-year-old is at the heart of United’s forward play and is considered the chief creating orchestra and he could potentially strike up a lethal partnership with fellow playmaker Eriksen.
From 126 matches for the Reds, Fernandes has scored 50 goals and supplied 39 assists. Despite Sampdoria signing Fernandes on a permanent deal in 2017 following a season-long loan from Udinese, the attacking midfielder was signed by Lisbon the same summer.
Fernandes rose to prominence in his homeland and he’s now considered one of the best playmakers on the continent. If there is one former Sampdoria player Mikkel Damsgaard will be looking to emulate ahead of his move to Brentford – it’ll be Lisbon’s former captain.
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