Ben Mee has become Brentford’s fourth signing of the summer after joining from Burnley on a free transfer.
The 32-year-old, who spent a decade at Turf Moor, was out of contract after the club’s relegation to the Sky Bet Championship and has signed a two-year contract with the west London side.
Mee joins fellow new signings Aaron Hickey, Keane Lewis-Potter and Thomas Strakosha at Brentford, who have lost Christian Eriksen to Manchester United on a free transfer.
The former Burnley captain played 376 times for the club and his new head coach, Thomas Frank, said yesterday that Mee’s experience would be valuable as Brentford embark on their second season in the Premier League.
Frank said on Brentford’s website: “I am very happy that we have signed Ben. He will add a lot of quality and experience to the squad. He had six good years for Burnley in the Premier League.
“I really love his defensive mindset; he knows how to defend the box, he knows how to block a shot and he knows how to win duels.
“He will bring leadership and communication to the team, which is very attractive. He has a very good left foot and will be very good for us on set pieces in both boxes. I am looking forward to adding him to the squad.”
The centre half, who began his career at Manchester City, lives in the North West and has vowed to make his transfer carbon neutral by donating to Carbon Neutral Britain, an organisation certified by the United Nations which helps to offset carbon footprints with solar and wind farms and by planting trees. Mee has donated a sum that should offset the average carbon footprint of a person for one year.
“I am conscious that transfers rack up a lot of air miles and driving miles so I am looking to offset my emissions,” Mee said on social media. “I am not perfect but I am trying to do my bit to make this transfer carbon neutral.”
