Gelson FERNANDES

Shortly after Tiémoué Bakayoko’s departure to Monaco, Stade Rennais acquired Gelson Fernandes from Freiburg in Germany. Best known for scoring the winning goal for Switzerland against Spain in the 2010 World Cup, this defensive midfielder had got through a number of clubs since the beginning of his career at Sion, never managing to establish himself in the different European leagues long-term. It was therefore a bit of a gamble by Philippe Montanier, bringing him to Rennes for 1.6 Million Euros. In his first two seasons at Rennes, he was undisputed first choice, covering huge amounts of ground, closing down opponents, and demonstrating a battling spirit. The arrival of Christian Gourcuff in 2016 as manager highlighted the limits to his technical ability, and his game-time suffered as a result. On Friday 2nd June 2017, the Swiss international joined Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga, where he was to get a full season to try and gain a place in the World Cup squad in 2018, this coming after 101 matches and one goal with Stade Rennais, where he had spent three seasons, a career record for Fernandes.