Former Brentford duo Wissa and Mbeumo motivating Ouattara to thrive
Brentford’s record signing Dango Ouattara states that ex-forwards Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo have significantly impacted his encouraging beginnings at his new club. Ouattara transferred to Brentford from Bournemouth during the summer to help fill the void left by Wissa and Mbeumo, who made moves to Newcastle United and Manchester United, respectively. The 23-year-old is currently representing Burkina Faso at the Africa Cup of Nations, having found the net three times in 16 appearances in the Premier League for the 2025-26 season. Wissa and Mbeumo combined for 39 league goals last season under Thomas Frank, now the manager at Tottenham, propelling the Bees to a 10th-place finish in the top-tier league. “I was fortunate to become acquainted with him a bit, which is a bonus,” Ouattara shared with BBC Sport Africa when discussing DR Congo international Wissa. “He informed me that it’s a club where the staff maintain a close relationship with the players. Now I can witness it firsthand.” Mbeumo made his transfer to Old Trafford for an estimated £65m and is also participating in AFCON with Cameroon. “Regardless of whether you’re African or not, (they’re) motivating,” Ouattara responded when reflecting on Mbeumo and Wissa’s influence on his decision to join Brentford. “Wissa managed to score nearly 20 goals without any penalties (last season). That serves as inspiration to all strikers.” Ouattara contributed to Burkina Faso’s victory in their opening match at AFCON on Wednesday, providing a late assist for Georgi Minoungou and helping his team secure a 2-1 win against Equatorial Guinea.
A Player of the Match performance
Dango’s late assist propelled Burkina Faso to kick off #AFCON25 with a 2-1 victory over Equatorial Guinea pic.twitter.com/u5MhWqHE9G
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) December 24, 2025
Meanwhile, Ouattara’s previous club Bournemouth experienced a late setback in their latest Premier League match, as Armando Broja’s equalizer in the 90th minute allowed Burnley to draw 1-1 on Saturday. They currently remain without a win in their last eight top-flight matches (D4 L4), having drawn their last three and conceding four of their last six goals during the competition after the 75th minute. The Cherries had dominated the match, registering an expected goals (xG) total of 1.41 from 16 shots compared to Burnley’s 0.38 from four attempts. After a promising start to the season, Bournemouth has slipped to 15th in the Premier League standings, with Andoni Iraola urging his squad to enhance their efficiency in the attacking third. “For me, it’s not about the position in the table, it’s the points that matter. We have 22 points, which isn’t a bad amount, but we want to increase that,” Iraola remarked. “We have two more opportunities before reaching the halfway juncture of the season, and we aim to add to that total. I believe 25 points would be a satisfactory figure for us.” Iraola does not see Bournemouth’s inconsistency solely as a consequence of their youthful squad, but rather a result of “the changes overall,” stating: “We are in a process that requires time. We have changed a lot. We have sold and acquired many players. They are all adapting at different speeds, so the process is still in progress.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Brentford – Keane Lewis-Potter
Lewis-Potter netted two goals against Wolves in his last outing, matching the total he had scored in his previous 69 Premier League games combined. He has never scored in back-to-back matches before, but with a brace to his name, he will hope to shine once more in the Bees attack on home soil.
Bournemouth – Antoine Semenyo
There has been much speculation surrounding Semenyo’s future leading up to the match, following his remarkable 2025, in which he contributed to 20 Premier League goals this calendar year with 14 strikes and six assists. Indeed, this ties him for the most goal involvements by a Bournemouth player in a calendar year alongside Dominic Solanke in 2023 (15 goals, five assists), while the only other Ghanaian to achieve 20+ goals and assists in a year was Tony Yeboah in 1995 for Leeds United (22 goals, three assists).
MATCH PREDICTION: BRENTFORD WIN
Brentford has remained unbeaten in their last nine league encounters against Bournemouth (W7 D2), winning all six of their Premier League clashes (W4 D2). The Bees have also triumphed in their last three league meetings with Bournemouth, having last secured more consecutive victories against them between April 1964 and May 1966 (five). However, Brentford has managed only one win in their seven Premier League matches during the festive period (D2 L4), the sole victory coming against West Ham 2-0 in December 2022. On the other hand, Bournemouth has claimed just one win in their last 15 away league matches at Brentford (D5 L9) and has been winless in 10 since a 2-0 victory in League One in October 2005. Nevertheless, Iraola’s team has acquired only four points in their last eight Premier League games (D4 L4), with their longest winless streak coming between May and October 2023 (13 matches). Since the beginning of November, only Burnley (one) and Wolves (none) have gained fewer points than the Cherries (four). Despite this, they are optimistic about securing a victory because Bournemouth has remained unbeaten in their last eight away Premier League matches in London (W2 D6), winning two of their last three journeys to the capital – equal to the number of wins in their prior 21 matches (W2 D8 L11).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Brentford – 47.1%
Draw – 26.3%
Bournemouth – 26.6%
Published: 2025-12-25 09:47:00
source: www.soccernews.com
