Saint Etienne have signed a former Sheffield United loanee to replace the new Leicester City signing Wesley Fofana.
The French side sold Fofana to Leicester for around £36.5 million last week (Guardian).
And his successor, Panagiotis Retsos, arrives from Bayer Leverkusen on a season-long loan deal, which Saint Etienne say contains an option to buy.
Retsos played just once for Sheffield United, whom he joined in January under a similar arrangement, before returning to his parent club.
And there was little talk of a fresh United move, despite the Blades’ ongoing search for a centre-half.
Leverkusen are reported to have paid £15.75m for Retsos three years ago (Transfermarkt).
But the 22-year-old could cost Saint Etienne as little as £5.9m, according to L’Equipe.
Sheffield United, who could be without Jack O’Connell for the rest of this season, can still recruit from EFL clubs until 16 October.
But a proposed move for the Huddersfield Town defender Terence Kongolo is said to have hit a snag (Daily Mail).
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
