Ligue 1 side Rennes have reportedly made an enquiry to sign RC Lens captain Seko Fofana, with Arsenal, Newcastle United and West Ham also interested in the Ivory Coast international.
According to L’Equipe, the French club have made contact with their league rivals enquiring about the prospect of signing Fofana, with Lens telling Rennes that their star midfielder is not for sale this summer with only a few days of the window left to go.
Lens have already lost one midfielder this summer in Cheikhou Kouyate, who signed for Crystal Palace earlier in the window, and the French club are resigned to losing another key player in Fofana, who is arguably one of the best in his position in all of Ligue 1, with his performances drawing some major interest from across Europe.
Premier League trio Arsenal, Newcastle and West Ham have all been credited with an interest in Fofana, who Lens reportedly value at a club-record €40m (£34m), and Rennes’ latest move to sign the former Manchester City star has seemingly been shot down.
Indeed, with so little time left in the window, it makes sense why the northern French side have rejected Rennes’ enquiry for Fofana, who would be a hard player to replace even if they were to receive £34m for their star midfielder, and Bruno Genesio’s spending this summer already suggests a deal would prove impossible to pull off.
Moreover, with the likes of Arsenal and Newcastle yet to make an official bid for Fofana, interested clubs seem to acknowledge that signing the Lens star will be a task too high for most sides, yet this seemingly hasn’t deterred Rennes despite the odds being heavily against their favour.
Rennes should postpone attempt to sign Fofana until January
Rennes have shown some ambition so late in the window in their enquiry to sign Fofana, yet with so little time left, Lens will no doubt reject any offers the Ligue 1 side make for the club captain, which is why Les Rouge et Noir should move for the Ivorian in the January window.
After all, the winter market will give Rennes time to thoroughly plan out a move for Fofana, and waiting six months could open the possibility of Lens lowering their asking price for the Arsenal, Newcastle and West Ham target, which might lead to some serious interest from Premier League clubs.
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