After the rather shocking news that Laurent Koscielny, Arsenal’s captain, had refused to join the Gunners on their pre-season tour, there’s been an update from France on where he could end up.
The general consensus is that the former Lorient player wants his current deal with the Premier League side cut short so he can move freely back to his home country, but the London side are refusing to do so.
After all, he is still worth money, and with a contract tying him to Arsenal until 2020, they have every right to force him to stand by his commitment.
While that is ongoing, talks are also underway with some clubs in France, including Stade Rennais, as Manu Lonjon, a journalist for Yahoo! Sport, claims ‘an agreement’ is close with the Gunners’ Europa League opponents from last season.
La piste la + chaude pour Laurent Koscielny est Rennes. On serait proches d’un accord .
— Manu ⭐️⭐️ (@ManuLonjon) July 11, 2019
A move to Rennes is described as the ‘hottest’ one, suggesting they are head of the competition provided by Bordeaux, who have also been linked in the past.
Furthermore, signing for Julien Stéphan’s side would also allow him to feature in the Europa League after the Ligue 1 side qualified for the group stages by winning the Coupe de France last season.
There’s still that big Arsenal obstacle to overcome, however, and it’s going to be interesting to see how that unfolds in the coming days.
