Rennes sign Lilian Brassier on loan
Brest centre-back Lilian Brassier (25) has joined Rennes on loan, both clubs have announced. Brassier's loan move includes a €12m option to make his move permanent for the next four years. The French centre-back spent the first half of the Ligue 1 campaign on loan at Marseille. However, Brassier's performances under the tutelage of Roberto De Zerbi were a far cry from the level he displayed last season with Eric Roy's Pirates and which earned him a move to the Vélodrome. Brassier's loan move to Marseille included a €12m purchase option, which Les Phocéens have decided not to trigger, prompting Rennes to pounce.
De la Route de Lorient à la Cité du Ponant, la Bretagne est son royaume. Marqué au fer rouge, il fête son retour. 🏛 pic.twitter.com/M9T5mpgM08
— Stade Rennais F.C. (@staderennais) January 31, 2025
Rennes – Brassier's formative club – were looking to freshen up their ailing defense with an experienced Ligue 1 centre-back given how poorly Leo Ostigard and Hans Hateboer have performed since they joined Les Rouge et Noir last summer. Brassier has undertaken his medical this Friday and could make his debut with Rennes this Sunday against RC Strasbourg. He is the fourth player to join Rennes this winter transfer window after Seko Fofana, Brice Samba and Kyogo Furuhashi.
GFFN | Bastien Cheval

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
'An absolute master, a wizard with the ball' - who is new City man Cherki?
Rayan Cherki is only the latest talent fresh off the Lyon production line, but he may be the best yet. He joined Lyon at the age of seven from AS Saint-Priest and, aged 16 years and 140 days, became their youngest goalscorer in January 2020. Advertisement Before that, in November 2019, a Champions League debut came against Zenit, while he also helped France reach the quarter-finals of the European Under-21 Championships in 2023. Cherki has just enjoyed a breakout campaign in Ligue 1, providing 11 assists, 22 big chances - the most in the league - 13 through-balls and 48 successful dribbles. A return of 12 goals is by far the best of his short career, but it is his work and understanding of the game off the ball that has arguably improved the most this term. French football expert Julien Laurens, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's Euro Leagues podcast, said: "He has been incredible this season. Since he was 16 - even before that - the talent is there, left foot or right foot. Advertisement "A player at this level who takes corners with each foot depending on which side of the corner it is, to be an inswinger every time is just incredible. "He is one of the greatest technicians in Europe right now." Of the 44 shots he took with his feet in Ligue 1 last season, 22 came with the left and 22 with the right. Cherki's growing reputation was only enhanced by Thursday's stunning international debut on Thursday against Spain, when he sparked France's comeback from 5-1 down. And Laurens certainly isn't Cherki's only admirer. France legend Thierry Henry has previously said he has "never seen a player in history who dribbles as quickly as him", while Lyon's captain Alexandre Lacazette described him as "special". Advertisement Cherki, also part of the France squad that finished runners-up at the 2024 Olympics, scored in both legs for Lyon against Manchester United in a Europa League quarter-final defeat in 2024-25. Speaking to BBC Sport in April about him, Lyon's former Arsenal player Ainsley Maitland-Niles said: "He is the best natural talent I've ever seen. An absolute master, a wizard with the ball. "He is taking chances, assists and dragging us up the pitch by taking people on and nutmegging them - he is a genius."
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Man City sign Cherki in time for Club World Cup
Manchester City completed the signing of French international Rayan Cherki from Lyon on Tuesday, in time to beat the deadline to register new players for the start of the Club World Cup. Cherki, 21, joins a new-look City, seeking to bounce back after a dismal trophyless season for Pep Guardiola's men, for a fee of 36.5 million euros ($41 million, £30.3 million) plus an extra six million euros in add-ons. Advertisement "This is a dream for me," Cherki said in a City statement. "To be joining a club like Manchester City and have the opportunity to make the next step in my career here is something very, very special. "I have worked so hard for this all my life. I love this sport, and I can't wait to develop further here in Manchester with Pep and his backroom staff. "Everyone knows how good City are – they have been so successful for many years now. The responsibility to help the team continue winning is something I want to embrace." Cherki joins Rayan Ait-Nouri, who joined City from Wolves on Monday, as new signings for the Club World Cup, while a deal for AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders is expected to be completed before Tuesday's deadline. Advertisement City will face Moroccan side Wydad AC and Emirati club Al Ain before a clash of European heavyweights with Juventus in the group stage, which kicks off on June 14. They also spent more than £172 million in January on Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis and Nico Gonzalez. A product of the Lyon youth academy, Cherki made his debut at 16 and became the club's youngest ever scorer in 2020. In total he scored 29 goals in 185 appearances for his boyhood club, including two in two games against City's rivals Manchester United in a remarkable Europa League quarter-final this season, won 7-6 on aggregate by the Red Devils. Advertisement Cherki made his senior international debut last week, scoring and assisting in France's 5-4 Nations League semi-final defeat to Spain. "There's no doubt that he's now in the best place possible to develop further under Pep's guidance and I really believe he can become a world-class player with our support and direction," said City director of football Hugo Viana. kca/nf
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
‘No one will decide for me' – Rayan Cherki bullish on future following last summer's criticism
In a wide-ranging interview with L'Équipe, Rayan Cherki (21) has opened up on his troubles with Olympique Lyonnais at the start of the season. Last summer, the Lyon academy product was set to enter the final year of his contract and the club were keen to sell, so that they would not lose him on a free transfer. Paris Saint-Germain had agreed a deal with their Ligue 1 compatriots but reportedly could not convince Cherki, while Borussia Dortmund convinced the player but not the club. Lyon placed Cherki in the 'loft' as they tried to force through a transfer that summer. Advertisement However, as transfer deadline day came and went with a bid from Fulham accepted by Lyon but rejected by the player, Cherki remained at his formative club. It would take him signing a contract extension before Lyon took him out of the 'loft' and reinserted him back into the matchday squad. Looking back on that time, Cherki sees the funny side of it. 'Everyone forgets that,' he laughs, 'It still makes me smile. It shows that football can be thankless, in the sense that I gave everything to the club. I signed my first professional contract there despite other options, I extended my contract several times, and I always gave my word not to leave on a free transfer. And despite that, in return, some tried to hurt me.' 'I never gave up,' he continues. 'I knew where I wanted to go. I was heavily criticised by some internally, my entourage was criticised… but I'm the one who makes decisions.' A point that he highlights when thinking about the upcoming transfer window, where he has already been linked with a move to Manchester City. Cherki says, 'No one will decide for me how, why, or where [I'll go].' GFFN | Nick Hartland