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.
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.
