Technical director Florian Maurice insists Rennes won’t be under pressure to sell Arsenal target Eduardo Camavinga this summer despite the midfielder having just one year left on his contract, speaking to Ouest France.
Players like Camavinga don’t come around too often for Rennes.
And the prospect of losing one of football’s next generation of superstars on a free transfer doesn’t bear thinking about.
However much of a nightmare scenario that may be, Rennes’ worst fears could soon become reality if they’re not careful.
The 18-year-old wonderkid is out of contract in 2022.
Earlier this month, ESPN reported Camavinga had been handed a 28 June deadline to agree a new deal.
And, as you may have noticed, that deadline has been and gone and the youngest player to score for the French national team since 1914 still hasn’t put pen to paper with his Ligue 1 employers.
Does that mean Rennes will be forced into a sale before the end of August, with Premier League giants Arsenal battling Paris Saint-Germain for his signature?
Well, not necessarily. But it’s hardly an ideal scenario.
Will Arsenal win the race for Eduardo Camavinga?
“For the moment, we don’t have an agreement on one side or the other. For the moment, Eduardo is here,” Maurice said.
“There are discussions that exist between the clubs, with the player as well. We still haven’t found a solution.
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“Either we find a way to extend his contract or a club is interested in Eduardo and we’ll reflect on the proposal we’re given.
“We’re not obliged to sell a player who has a year left of his contract. Today, there has been no official proposal on the president’s desk.”
Maurice may insist Rennes are under no immediate pressure to sell but, if someone is willing to offer a fee in the region of £50 million for arguably the best teenage midfielder on the planet, things could change.
“I followed his matches in Ligue 1. He’s young but he’s like Kylian (Mbappe), you don’t talk to him about age,” Paul Pogba said this week about a man who has been compared frequently to the Manchester United playmaker. Pogba was responding to a report stating United are interested in Camavinga too.
“He already has a maturity, a serenity I didn’t have at his age and that a lot of players don’t have.
“I only wish him the best and even more because he has everything to succeed. The future is in his hands. He is also comfortable as a person.”
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