“Brice has made it known that he wants to leave the club,” conceded 32-year-old Belgian coach Will Still to reporters. “I learned that from him during the holidays, he told me ‘Coach, I got an offer, here’s what I want to do’. We are losing an important element,” he regretted.
According to the daily L'Equipe, Lens and Rennes have reached an agreement in principle concerning the transfer of the goalkeeper three times selected for the France team. Arriving in Pas-de-Calais in the summer of 2022, Brice Samba is one of the darlings of the Bollaert stadium. He was one of the great architects of the second place snatched in Ligue 1 during the 2022/2023 season.
The arrival of Samba, a threat to Mandanda
This desire to leave mid-season “is not an ideal situation”, admitted Will Still, but “from the moment his choice is made, there is no more to discuss. We are not going to keep a player who no longer wants to be there. »
“He's a personality, a great player, but he will be replaced,” assured the coach, specifying that it is his understudy Hervé Koffi, 58 caps with Burkina Faso, who will be in the Lens cages on Sunday against Toulouse.
If his arrival in Rennes is confirmed, it will allow the Breton club to make another big move on the transfer market after Wednesday's announcement of the signing of Seko Fofana, ex-captain of Lens exiled in Saudi Arabia.
Rennes, 12th in Ligue 1, must offer its new coach Jorge Sampaoli a squad capable of targeting Europe at the end of the season.
The arrival of Brice Samba would threaten the position of Steve Mandanda, holder since his arrival in Rennes in 2022 but who will celebrate his 40th birthday in March.
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