Will Still drops Brice Samba from Lens’ matchday squad amid Rennes transfer saga | OneFootball

Lens manager Will Still has kept his word and dropped club captain Brice Samba (30) from the Artois side’s matchday squad amid the France international’s transfer to Rennes. RMC Sport reported on Friday that Lens had pulled the plug on Samba’s €14m signing to Stade Rennais as the former Nottingham Forest goalie had already agreed to join the Bretons and sign a four-and-a-half-year deal. “Keeping a player who no longer wants to be there is not necessarily a good thing, so it’s not that complicated”, Still said in his pre-game presser with Lens hosting Toulouse this Sunday, a Ligue 1 game for which Samba has logically not been called up.

RMC Sport understands that Rennes won’t give up on their pursuit of Samba, but the plot seems to have thickened with La Voix du Nord reporting that Lens’ goalkeeping coach Hervé Sekli requested to follow Samba in making the move to Brittany. Sekli’s exit would have forced Lens to find his replacement and Rennes to part ways with Olivier Sorin. Speaking to the outlet, Sekli said he has no intention of leaving Lens for now, but he did not rule anything out.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval