The Christmas period was extremely active in Rennes, 12th in Ligue 1, which worked hard to ensure the arrival of its first reinforcements. Revealed this weekend, the discussions for Seko Fofana will be successful. 18 months after leaving Ligue 1 to try the adventure in the Saudi Pro League, the former Lensois said yes to Stade Rennais who had ticked him off as the absolute priority in the midfield to bring the experience and leadership that missed so much by the Breton team during the first part of the season.
The Ivorian international midfielder (24 caps) should arrive after the opening of the transfer market, the launch of which is scheduled for this Wednesday, January 1. In Paris for several days, he successfully passed his medical examination this Monday, December 30, according to our information.
At 29 years old, Seko Fofana is preparing to return to a championship in which he established himself as one of the very best elements during his time at Lens (2020-2023) which he greatly helped to qualify for the League champions before joining Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr, then being loaned twice to Al-Ettifaq.
The former Artesian captain had an offer from another Saudi club this winter, but he finally opted for the Rennes project where president Arnaud Pouille, former general manager of Lens, weighed in with all his weight so that the deal comes to fruition.
The departure of the CEO of Al-Nassr, Guido Fienga, gave a final boost, Sunday evening, to the protagonists of the file who had led all the discussions with the Italian leader. But the transfer of the 2024 African champion (around €20 million) is sufficiently well underway that everything is not called into question. While he already wanted to poach him when he coached Olympique de Marseille, Jorge Sampaoli will see the arrival of the “box to box” that he was hoping for to densify his environment.
The Argentinian, in office since mid-November, asked for new blood on all lines. He should quickly see the arrival of Brice Samba, with whom discussions are very well underway. Rennes and Lens already have an agreement in principle for the transfer of the number 2 goalkeeper of the France team (3 caps). They must discuss a few details to finalize the operation while the blood-and-gold club has already launched its search to find a replacement.
