Brentford appoint duo and sign Gogia

Brentford have appointed two men to the role of director of football and confirmed their first summer signing.

Attacking midfielder Akaki Gogia, 23, will arrive on a free transfer from German third-tier side Hallescher on 1 July.

It is the first addition to the squad under the new management structure, in which Rasmus Ankersen and Phil Giles will oversee player recruitment.

Ankersen is chairman of Danish league leaders FC Midtjylland, who like Brentford are owned by Matthew Benham, and he will work for both clubs.

Giles has worked at Benham’s sports statistics firm for eight years and together with Ankersen and the board will appoint Mark Warburton’s successor as head coach.

Benham said: “When changes to the football department were first announced, we were very clear that we wanted Brentford to be a club that could reach the Premier League and stay there.

“We believe this can only be achieved sustainably with an innovative approach to player recruitment and the overall management of the club.

“I have worked with Rasmus at FC Midtyjlland and many of the methods we will be using at Brentford are already showing much promise there.

“Phil is someone who has excellent football knowledge and the analytical skills to assess players, tactics and teams in the way we want to.

“Rasmus and Phil will work with our new head coach to ensure we can get the best Brentford squad possible.”

That squad will be bolstered by the arrival of Gogia, who has signed a long-term deal with Brentford.

A former Germany Under-19 international, he started his senior career with VfL Wolfsburg and has scored 19 goals across the last two seasons in the German third tier.

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