M'Baye NIANG

Stade Rennais officially announced the arrival of M’Baye Niang on 31st August 2018. The Senegalese international striker was loaned by Torino with a buyout clause estimated at 10 Million Euros. Caen launched him aged 16 in Ligue 1, and he had gained lots of experience from spells with AC Milan, Montpellier, Watford, and Torino. Two months before he signed in Brittany, he scored in Senegal’s win over Poland at the World Cup. After a very disappointing start to his career at Rennes, M’Baye Niang became prolific in the second half of the season under Julien Stéphan. He scored 13 times in 2019, and his move to Rennes was made permanent on 30th May 2019, when he became the third-largest transfer signing in the history of the club, in a deal worth 15 Million Euros. After scoring 15 goals up to the point when the 2019/2020 season was suspended in March 2020, during the lockdown period, he intimated that he wanted to play elsewhere. After a long-running soap opera - with numerous plot twists - and an aborted transfer to Saint Etienne in October 2020, Niang finally returned to Rennes' first-team squad for the 2020/2021 season. After just 12 appearances and 1 solitary goal in the 2020/2021 season, he was loaned to Al Ahly in Saudi Arabia on 7th February 2021. Not figuring in manager Bruno Genesio's plans for the new season and released from his playing contract with Rennes, Niang made a permanent move to Bordeaux as a "joker" on 24th September 2021 to join the Girondins de Bordeaux side. Although his move did not involve a transfer fee, it did - however - include a sell-on clause, and performance-based bonus payments to Rennes.