The French international goalkeeper has signed with Rennes until 2029.
French international goalkeeper Brice Samba, until then captain of Lens, has signed with Rennes until 2029, the two clubs announced on Wednesday.
After two and a half seasons in Artois, where he completely relaunched his career to the point of being called up to Blue (three selections), the 30-year-old left the seventh in Ligue 1 to join the thirteenth. The amount of the transfer has not been revealed.
An explosion within RC Lens
Expected for several weeks, this transfer results from the player's desire to leave the Sang et Or, a few months after the departure of the coach with whom he had known everything, Franck Haise. Under Haise's orders, Brice Samba was the last bastion of an excellent defense, within a team which finished second in Ligue 1 in 2023 to everyone's surprise, bringing the Champions League back to Stade Bollaert the following season .
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The native of Linzolo, Congo, experienced the best moments of his career in the mining basin club. In Rennes, he will find the former general director of Lens Arnaud Pouille, another member of the tandem which brought glory to the Artesian club in recent seasons, as well as his former teammate Seko Fofana, who wore the captain's armband before him.
An additional asset for the club
The Breton club strikes hard a second time in this transfer window, after the signing of Fofana, which demonstrates its desire to move up the rankings towards European places after a disappointing first part of the season. Samba should push Steve Mandanda (39), current holder, to leave.
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“Beyond the player and his international status, his state of mind oriented towards performance and victory is an additional asset for the club,” Pouille said in the Rennes press release. His natural leadership, experience and talent will help develop our ambitions.”
Samba's departure became inevitable on Tuesday evening after the arrival of Spanish goalkeeper Pau Lopez, on loan from Marseille, who will succeed him in the Lens goal.
