French International Wants Premier League Move

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French International Rod Fanni, who is currently plying his trade with Ligue 1 side Rennes has revealed that he would favour a move to the Premier League or La Liga, with Real Madrid being mentioned as a possible suitor for the full-back as well as Sunderland, who were linked with the Frenchman in the summer.

26-year-old Fanni joined Rennes from French rivals Nice in 2007 and has made 45 appearances for Les Rouges et Noirs during his time at the Route de Lorient. Fanni’s performances for Rennes have earned the defender a call-up to the French National team this year, with the right-back now having been capped twice by Les Bleus.



Fanni has revealed that it is his ambition to improve and has done so by steadily moving to bigger clubs in France, with his sights now set on the Premiership or the Primera Division as his next move.

“Every player’s ambition is to improve. I moved up a step when I signed with Nice, then another when I joined Rennes,” Fanni told Foot Mercato.

“The truth is that I have always been attracted by foreign leagues.”

However, despite his name being mentioned with a move to Los Merengues, Fanni has conceded that there has been no contact from Real, but would jump at the chance to play at the Bernabeu or in the Premier League.

“Personally I never received any phone call but actually I have heard that something may happen,” he added.

“I would be happy with it, but at the same time, many scouts came to see me since my career started. But for sure if I am to leave Rennes my priority will be England or Spain.”

Tottenham Plan £25million Ligue 1 Double Swoop?

New Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp has already been linked with a string of strikers in the January transfer window since taken over from Juande Ramos at White Hart Lane last Sunday, with Spurs now being linked with Ligue 1 pair, Fernando Cavenaghi at Bordeaux and Jimmy Briand, who plays for Rennes, according to Mercato 365.

Redknapp is almost certain to add more firepower to the Tottenham front line in January, with summer signing Roman Pavlyuchenko and England International Darren Bent the only two experienced forwards at the North London club.

Although Spurs have been linked with Everton’s Yakubu and Wigan Athletic’s Egyptian sensation Amr Zaki along with his Latics strike-partner Emile Heskey at home in the Premier League, Tottenham are now believed to be tracking Cavenaghi and Briand in the French top-flight.

Cavenaghi is a former team-mate of Pavlyuchenko, having played with the Russian International at Spartak Moscow and is valued by the French side at around £15million, with the 25-year-old Argentine International scoring 23 goals in 44 league matches for Bordeaux and is exactly the type of out-and-out goal-scorer that Redknapp is looking for at White Hart Lane.

Meanwhile, 23-year-old Briand has drawn comparisons in his style of play to former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry, with the Frenchman reportedly a target for Redknapp when he was in charge of Portsmouth. The Gunners were also said to be interested in Briand after his breakthrough season for Rennes in 2006-2007. However, despite the comparisons with Barcelona’s Henry, Briand is less prolific and plays as a second striker, where he can create for others as well as score.

Briand would cost Tottenham in the region of £10million, with the striker unsettled at the Route de Lorient after a summer tug-of-war with Ligue 1 rivals Paris St Germain, which resulted in Briand staying with Rennes, despite wanting to leave.