Tunisia forward Wahbi Khazri, who is on the books of Sunderland, has been a transfer target for two French clubs, Rennes and Saint-Etienne.
After the Black Cats were relegated to the Championship, the English club allowed the 27-year-old to join Rennes on loan. He scored nine goals and registered two assists in 24 Ligue 1 appearances, which helped them to qualify for next season’s Europa League.
Rennes have been facing competition from Saint-Etienne to sign Khazri in the summer transfer window. Today’s edition of French newspaper L’Equipe claims Saint-Etienne have ‘convinced the Tunisian international to join them’ over their league rivals.
The player is also seduced by the idea of playing under Jean-Louis Gasset at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.
But there’s been a delay. Khazri is said to have undergone a medical on Monday, and the reason a move isn’t yet completed is due to discrepancies between what was agreed verbally and what was then in the player’s contract.
‘Small details’ weren’t included in the documents, and Khazri’s camp understandably wanted this putting right. As of last night, L’Equipe say the deal was ‘90%’ done.
A fee of €4-6m will be sufficient for the British club to allow Khazri to leave this summer, especially after they have been relegated from the Championship last season.
Saint-Etienne are ready to offer him better wages than Rennes, which convinced the attacker to join the former.
