Brighton and Hove Albion are looking to bring Rennes talisman M’baye Niang back to the Premier League this summer after a fine season in the French top flight, according to the Daily Star.
The penny appears to have dropped at last for one of the most enigmatic forwards in European football.
With 15 goals in 36 games, Niang is the main reason why his high-flying Rennes side have qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history; finishing third in a Ligue 1 season which was finalised on a Points per Game basis.
That makes 2019/20 the most prolific campaign in the career of a former Watford ace who looks set for a return to the Premier League sooner rather than later.
Brighton are interested and that should be no surprise. Graham Potter’s side are one of the most eyecatching teams in England’s top flight but have often lacked the ruthless streak to make their pretty, passing football count.
“In England, all the clubs are looking for strikers. (The interest) It is flattering. There is no smoke without fire,” Niang, who cost Rennes a cool £13 million, has told the Star.
The publication claims that Niang is not the only Ligue 1 forward on Brighton’s radar with Serhou Guirassy, the £18 million Amiens talisman, another potential option for the Seagulls.
Speaking last week after Amiens were relegated to Ligue 2, president Bernard Joannin admitted that Guirassy was free to go while confirming West Ham’s interest in a rangy Frenchman.
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