Mehdi ZEFFANE

Mehdi Zeffane arrived at Stade Rennais FC on 12th August 2015 from Lyon on a four-year deal. The right-back was recruited to compensate for the long-term injury absence of Cavaré, injured a few days earlier. The Algerian international, whilst having good technical ability was not so good from a tactical perspective. His first start for the club came in August 2015, playing out of position at left-back, at his old club Lyon, where he scored the winning goal for Rennes. Disappointing under Philippe Montanier, he was completely left out of the squad with Christian Gourcuff. When Sabri Lamouchi arrived at the end of 2017 to take over as manager, he gave Zeffane a new lease of life, playing him in all the wide roles in midfield and defence, almost like a Swiss Army knife… In 2018/2019, now playing under Julien Stéphan, he filled in on both sides of defence in the absence of Ramy Bensebaïni and Hamari Traoré. Zeffane enjoyed his best season at Rennes, crowned by the wonderful Europa League campaign, and victory in the French Cup. He was released at the end of his contract at the end of June 2019, after not being offered a contract extension.