L’Équipe report that Ligue 1 side Rennes have begun their attempts to sign 25-year-old Gabonese attacker Denis Bouanga from St Étienne, with club president Nicolas Holveck intending to begin his side’s bidding at the €6m mark.
SRFC already made a €4.5m proposal last summer for the player, when he was still at Nîmes, but ultimately lost out to Les Verts.
Now, ASSE want at least €10m for their man, and Holveck knows this, which is why he is yet to submit a formal proposal to his counterparts at St Étienne. He remains in conversations with the player’s entourage, though.
Claude Puel wants to build his attack around Bouanga and is very reticent to the idea of allowing the player to depart. However, at €15m, Les Verts’ board will force the sale almost certainly, according to the outlet.
Rennes are facing a bit of an uphill battle in getting a deal here done, especially because when Julien Stéphan called Bouanga already last summer to convince him of a move, there was little natural chemistry between the two men. Real Betis, once interested, are not looking at Bouanga as a serious target for the summer, but ASSE expect a barrage of interest to come from the Premier League once the English sides have completed their 2019/20 campaign in full.
Bouanga’s future is likely to be a mini-saga this summer.
