Mohammed Salisu rejects Rennes for the Premier League

Rennes president Nicolas Holveck says they “have done everything to convince” Real Valladolid’s Mohammed Salisu to join the Ligue 1 side, but the defender has turned them down while opting for a possible Premier League move.

Manchester United, Everton and Southampton are reportedly targeting the Ghanaian who has two years left on his Valladolid contract.

Football-Espana, recently reported Salisu was headed for Ligue 1 after Rennes had agreed to meet his €12m release clause, but the defender changed his mind.

Rennes had tried to entice the defender with the prospect of playing Champions League football next season.

“We have several targets. We are on three-four players, a level higher than the Europa League. If we succeed, there will be real reinforcements. There will be ambitious recruitment whatever happens,” said Holveck as per Foot Mercato.

“Salisu is currently prioritizing the Premier League. Forcing a player despite agreements between clubs is something we don't necessarily want to do. We have done everything to convince him, a priority, he would like to go to the Premier League.

“We want players who want to come. This is not a reproach to Salisu, who during our discussions, seemed very sincere. He prefers an English speaking country. We're not going to force people.”

Picking the Premier League as his preferred next destination would also dash Atletico Madrid’s reported hopes of landing the player who could have joined his compatriot Thomas Partey at the Wanda Metropolitano.

Salisu is yet to be capped by Ghana but has already been a hot transfer target for the next window following some impressive La Liga outings this season.

He has featured in all league matches for Valladolid in the current campaign, with former Barcelona goalkeeper Jordi Masip and forward Oscar Plano his only other teammates to clock all La Liga games this term.

That is a vast improvement from last season where Salisu only managed to sit on the bench on four occasions.