Stade Rennais: the French football factory that continues to manufacture top talents

As recent seasons have gone by, more and more football fans have become aware of the happenings at Ligue 1 outfit Stade Rennais, who have enjoyed stellar success in their recruitment over the last handful of years.

The Brittany establishment have bought numerous rough diamonds to then sell them on for major profit with Edouard Mendy, Ismaïla Sarr and Raphinha examples of Premier League arrivals that have come from the club based in the northwest of France.

On Thursday night, Rennes will take on a fifth British side in four seasons when they travel to Leicester City in the first leg of the Europa Conference League round of 16 stage, having played against Tottenham Hotspur earlier this season as well as Chelsea, Celtic and Arsenal in European competitions over the previous three campaigns.

However, this is the lowest the Ligue 1 outfit have ranked in Europe since ending a six-year wait for continental football in 2018, with the tie against the Foxes being in the newly-formed Conference League.

Over the last four seasons, Les Rouge et Noir have finished sixth, third, tenth and fifth in the French top-flight, with a Coupe de France triumph in 2018/19 securing European football once again despite their lowest league finish since 2013/14.

Having finished bottom of their Champions League group last season, Bruno Génésio’s side are on course to enjoy the luxuries of Europe’s elite competition once again as they currently sit fourth in Ligue 1, having won five of their last seven matches.

However, the French side’s focus in Europe this season has been on the maiden Conference League campaign.

Having finished top of Group G ahead of Vitesse, Spurs and Mura, Rennes haven’t played in Europe for almost four months as their final group match away at Tottenham was postponed due to the North London club’s outbreak of positive Covid-19 cases, only for UEFA to deem the match forfeited in their favour.

Génésio will take his team to England though to take on a Leicester side who overcame Danish side Randers 7-2 on aggregate in the play-off round having dropped down from the Europa League after a disappointing campaign. Brendan Rodgers’ team, however, will certainly have ambitions of going all the way in the Conference League.

The Foxes were due to welcome back young French centre-back Wesley Fofana for the first time since he suffered a broken leg in a pre-season match against Valencia, but he has been ruled out due to a positive test for Covid-19.

After a tricky spell in the Premier League, Rodgers’ side go into the first leg off the back of two victories over Burnley and Leeds United, although they are still 12th in the league.

However, despite seeing the likes of Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), Mendy (Chelsea), Raphinha (Leeds) and Sarr (Watford) depart over recent summers, the new crop of Rennes talent is certainly exciting.

19-year-old Belgian wonder kid Jeremy Doku is seemingly set to be the next star to eventually move on for greener pastures, with Newcastle United linked with a summer move.

However, this season has been overshadowed by injury struggles after a breakthrough campaign that ended with 90 minutes in Belgium’s 2-1 European Championship defeat to Italy, in which the winger won the penalty scored by Romelu Lukaku.

Doku has only managed to make 14 appearances across all competitions after suffering from a reoccurring hamstring injury, as well as a separate knee injury. However, the winger played 18 minutes on Sunday and registered an assist as Rennes beat Angers 2-0 and should be available for the trip to the East Midlands.

21-year-old French centre-back Loïc Badé could also be one for the future having joined from Lens in the summer, but he is currently nursing an abductor injury.

Rennes undoubtedly have a talented young squad, with their average age currently standing at 23.7 years, but the major threat across the two legs will undoubtedly be striker Gaëtan Laborde who is currently the joint-second top goalscorer in Ligue 1.

The 27-year-old Frenchman has had a stellar campaign thus far, scoring 19 goals in 32 appearances across the league and Europe, with the forward netting five times during Les Rouge et Noir’s five group matches in the Conference League.

Moreover Laborde, who signed from Montpellier at the end of the summer transfer window, has netted in each of his last three Ligue 1 matches.

Stade Rennais have been doing something special now for years and are certainly up there with one of the favourites to win the entire competition, alongside Leicester, as the two sides go into their mouthwatering round of 16 tie.