Rennes reach agreement with Barca for Faye, begin talking with Jota

Ligue 1 club Stade Rennais are set to sign Barcelona Mikayil Faye  and Portuguese Jota.

Transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano revealed this, revealing that the Ligue 1 club has reached an agreement with FC Barcelona to sign the 20-year-old defender.

The young center-back will arrive in the North of France, where he will undergo a medical before signing on the dotted line. According to Romano, Faye will leave Barcelona for a €12 million fixed fee and a 25% sell-on clause.

However, Barcelona reportedly inserted a buy-back clause for the defender, which was thought to be above €35 million. 

This means Faye, who has been a long-term target for French clubs, will soon begin his Serie A adventure. Lille OSC was also in the race to sign the young defender before he finally joined Rennes.

Also interested in his signature were RC Lens during the winter transfer window., RC Lens were keen to secure Faye’s signature as they looked for an option to replace Massadio Haïdara, who at the time had agreed to join FC Nantes but subsequently remained with the club after Les Sang et Or were unable to find an adequate replacement.

 In a related development, Stade Rennais also wants to sign Portuguese winger Jota as they have begun talks with Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad.

 According to a report from Ouest-France, the 25-year-old joined the Jeddah-based club last year from Celtic FC in a €29m deal.

This is an opportunity for the Portuguese to return to European football.

The outlet reported that Jota could be set to leave Al-Ittihad after a difficult debut season with the Saudi side. The versatile Portuguese winger scored five goals and one assist in 25 games with Al-Ittihad.

Ouest-France adds that Rennes has a genuine interest in Jota, but it would not be easy for Les Rouge et Noir to sign the Portuguese due to his wages and Al-Ittihad’s valuation of him.

Rennes kicked off their Ligue 1 campaign in sweet fashion with a 3-0 demolition of  Olympique Lyonnais 3-0 at home.