Christophe Galtier had confirmed the departure of his player earlier this Thursday, but it is now official.
As announced by Le Parisien, Arnaud Kalimuendo leaves PSG to join Rennes, on a permanent transfer.
He is now linked to the Breton club until 2027.
[MercatoSRFC]
Arnaud Kalimuendo is 𝗥𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗲 𝗲𝘁 𝗡𝗼𝗶𝗿!
✍
The @PSG_inside striker is committed to the SRFC until 2027.
Welcome home Arnaud!
🔴⚫
— Stade Rennais FC (@staderennais) August 11, 2022
Trained at Paris Saint-Germain, the Parisian titi joined the capital club in 2012. At only 20 years old, he took off for Stade Rennais, without having really had the chance to win in Paris.
His transfer represents one of the club's biggest sales in recent years.
Estimated at more than 20 million euros, the amount of the transaction has the only recent comparison in Paris with the sale of Giovani Lo Celso to Tottenham, in 2019.
“A necessary step in its progression”
“We are very happy to welcome Arnaud Kalimuendo who had two very good seasons at RC Lens.
He is a very promising striker who will bring a complementary solution to Bruno Genesio to help him achieve our goals in the league and in the European Cup.
It's rewarding for the club, it once again demonstrates the growing attractiveness of Stade Rennais,” said Olivier Cloarec, general manager of Stade Rennais.
For the past two seasons, the French striker was on loan at RC Lens, where he scored a total of 19 goals in 60 official matches.
“Arnaud felt that the club was a necessary step in his progression.
Beyond the negotiations, what we really liked was the strong desire he showed to join us.
He had very good feedback on the SRFC from players he met or faced, ”adds Olivier Cloarec in the club press release.
Arnaud Kalimuendo could live his first minutes with his new team this Saturday, during the trip from Stade Rennais to Monaco.
“We wanted to strengthen our attack even if it showed a lot of good things last season, explains Florian Maurice, technical director of the Breton club.
It was important to bring in an additional player to deal with all the eventualities that may occur until the end of the transfer window.
He is a player who, in the game, corresponds to our characteristics.
There was an opportunity and we're glad he's there.
There will obviously be competition but it is important to continue to grow.
With more than twenty goals in two Ligue 1 seasons, he proved that he knew how to be decisive.
It will be important for him to blend into the collective but I have no worries about that.
It totally corresponds to what we are looking for in terms of football.