Brentford have signed Julian Jeanvier from French side Stade de Reims for an undisclosed fee as confirmed by the club website.
Earlier in the summer the Bees were dealt with a blow after they sold John Egan to Sheffield United for a fee believed to be around £4m. While Brentford were able to get a good amount of money and a decent profit from when they originally bought him from Gillingham, it was not the best that they lost one of their top defenders close to the start of the season. But now they have found the man to replace him.
Going back to their transfer strategy of signing relative unknowns from abroad, Brentford have signed Jeanvier from Reims with the defender signing a four-year contract with the option of another year. The 26-year-old defender started his career with Nancy before heading to Lille. However he was unable to make a single league appearance for them and instead his first team football came from loan spells at Royal Excel Mouscron and Red Star before heading to Reims in 2016. And now after making 62 appearances and scoring five goals for them, he is heading to Brentford.
Following the move, Brentford head coach Dean Smith said: “We are very happy that Julian has chosen to come to Brentford as the next step in his career. We were looking to replace John Egan when he left us, and Julian perfectly fits the bill in terms of stature, the way he plays, personality and the characteristics we see in players.”
“We think he has the potential to get better. He had a great season with Reims last season and his performances saw him named in the Team of the Year for Ligue Deux. I look forward to working with him.”
