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So, Toumani Diagouraga has played his last game for the Bees following a move to Leeds United – the popular midfielder bringing the curtain down on a Brentford career that goes back to 2010. I’m sure most Bees fans will wish him well at Elland Road.

Toums, who had been linked with a move to Glasgow Rangers earlier in the month, will return to Griffin Park on Tuesday night with his new club.

However, after years of ironic “shoooooooot” chants from the Brentford faithful every time Toums (who hasn’t scored in 4 years) got the ball – particularly funny when it was on the half way line or deep in the Brentford half – it would be sod’s law if the ‘wayward hotshot’ came back to score against his former employees.

The 28-year-old box-to-boxer will be remembered fondly, he played a big part in Brentford’s success over the past couple of seasons, and his form during the unforgettable march to the play-offs last campaign was inspiring after many had questioned his long-term prospects at the club.

After a loan spell at Portsmouth, Toums returned to show that he was more than a League One plodder and grasped the chance to shine on the bigger stage – although the ‘new Patrick Vieira’ tag that seems to have been attached of late may be a slight exaggeration.

There is certainly plenty of skill in those long legs of his, and Leeds’ counterattacking style will suit him. However, only time will tell if we had the best out of him in the past 18 months or whether it was time for him to move on from both sides.

We’ve been discussing Toum’s interest from ‘other clubs’ (i.e. Leeds) for weeks on the Pride of West London Podcast (the latest edition below) … and despite strong resistance from Rangers, it seems that Yorkshire won that little tussle.

One thing is for sure, though, his departure definitely weakens our squad in the here and now, and fans are anxious to see some new faces brought in to bolster the Bees for the remainder of the season. So watch this space.

Dave Lane