Dakar, August 20 (APS) – Senegalese Mbaye Niang must prove himself worthy of the first choice place in the Rennes attack (French elite) or else give way to another more efficient striker, warned his trainer, Julien Stéphan.
“From the moment he is there, if I think it is the best option for the attacking position, I will make him start,” said the Rennes coach.
“If I think that another has shown more things, more qualities during the training week, I will start someone else,” said Julien Stéphan, quoted by the site football365.fr.
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Last May, Mbaye Niang, the Rennes attack leader, expressed his desire to join Marseille, the city of his companion. He even said he was ready to make financial sacrifices if OM’s sporting project approved him.
The Senegalese striker was ultimately unable to leave Rennes, OM not having made any offers.
Author of 11 goals last season, Stade Rennais did not ask for less than 25 million euros (around 16.5 billion francs) to release their number 1 striker, also courted in England and Qatar.
Earlier last week, sources close to Stade Rennais had expressed the interests of the French club qualified in the Champions League for the Algerian striker, Islam Slimani, who was not retained by AS Monaco.
Long before Mbaye Niang’s exit in the media, French media had reported on his tense relations with his coach, especially after the departure of the club’s former sports director, Oliver Létang.
The latter, who had brought Mbaye Niang in a situation of failure in Torino (Italy), had been forced to leave Rennes because of disputes with the former sports director.
Olivier Létang has been replaced by Florian Maurice who left the same post in Lyon.
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