Most recently, Wahbi Khazri’s future was leaning more towards Saint-Etienne, with L’Equipe reporting Sunderland and the Ligue 1 club had ‘agreed a fee’ for the Tunisia international.
However, Le10 Sport then waded in, explaining the Black Cats’ demands of around €7m were putting off Les Verts, but that the two sides were still in talks over a potential transfer.
Marseille and Lyon have both also been linked in the past, but it’s Rennes, the club where he spent last season on loan, who are still trying really hard to sign Khazri, this time on a permanent basis.
Speaking during a press conference, both Sabri Lamouchi, the team’s manager, and Olivier Létang, their president, discussed the Sunderland forward’s future.
First up, relayed by Le10 Sport, was the former of the two.
He said: “I know the president and the club haven’t stopped trying to convince Wahbi. As far as I know, he hasn’t signed anywhere else and hasn’t said no to us. We are doing what we can to ensure he’s with us because we know what he brings in the dressing room and what he’s brought.
“The president is doing what’s required in this dossier. Unfortunately, we aren’t the only ones, but it’s clear that keeping him would be a huge gain to continue what we already know we can do”.
As for Létang, he corroborated what his manager had to say: “We’re basically where we were a few weeks ago, saying the ball is in Wahbi’s court, with whom we’ve kept in touch regularly. We’re waiting for an answer. We’ll know more this week, one way or another”.
So, it seems we now have some kind of time frame for Khazri’s Sunderland exit.
That’s progress.
