The French club will play in the Champions League qualifiers and their president has warned: “Our priority is to keep the team intact”. Real Madrid remain on alert.

Rennes have commenced their plan to protect Eduardo Camavinga. The decision taken by the FFF earlier this week to deem the 2019/20 Ligue 1 season over and use the points ratio to determine the final league standings means that Rennes end the campaign third and will play th qualifying round of next season’s Champions League. That presents a slight obstacle for Real Madrid in their pursuit of Camavinga, who they have set their sights on if Paul Pogba doesn’t join. The prospect of playing Champions League football next season is an extra incentive for Rennes owner François-Henri Pinault is keen to ensure he doesn’t lose one of the team’s best players and has made his intentions clear to new club president Nicolas Holveck. “Our priority is to make sure that the team remains intact – a team which has demostrated the great talent it possesses during a fantastic season. We need to be intelligent in the transfer market so that we can improve the team and make sure it is as strong as possible so that we can full fil our objective of getting through the qualifying round,” Holveck told L’Equipe Chaine.

Rennes send hand-off message to Camavinga’s suitors

The message which Holveck sent out, was not solely directed at Real Madrid but also other European clubs who have designs on Camavinga, who has recently been hinting that he is considering leaving the club. The new president is keen not to make the same mistake his predecesor Olivier Létang made, he was released for negotiating with Madrid for the midfielder behind the backs of club shareholders.

Camavinga could leave Renne this summer for 50 million euros, as Diario AS recently reported. He is one of Zidane’s prime objectives. The coach has spotted the chance for a similar operation to the one which  brought Rapahel Varane to Madrid on a 10 million euro deal from Lens, when the player was only 18 years old. Camavinga is 17, but luring him away won’t be simple.

Camavinga – a young player with the world at his feet

He’s under contract until 2022 and does not have a release clause. For Rennes, the prestige and economic benefits of qualifying for the Champions League are far more important than losing a key member of the team – and especially Camavinga, the sensation of Ligue 1. He is a player with a great future ahead of him, he’s physically strong and technically gifted, and he was the youngest player to have scored for Rennes as well as pick up the Ligue 1 Player of the Month award.

He is a player who elects the right decision and thinks quickly. He also had good positioning and excellent ball control skills – qualities that earned him a place in France Football’s team of the year. Rennes are pushing to ensure that Camavinga continues – at least for another season so that the team can consolidate its position within Ligue 1 after finishing third this year.

The club’s healthy economic situation means they have no need to sell players. The options are keeping hold of their star, or if they do decide to let him go, sell him for a high price – something which is not lookig feasible with the way the coronavirus crisis is going. Madrid meanwhile, are keeping all of their bases covered. They want Pogba to strengthen their midfield and if that fall through then they will turn to their alternatives -0 Camavinga and Napoli’s Fabián Ruiz.

Source:- All Football