Samuel SOUPRAYEN

Samuel Souprayen was the skipper of the Rennes team that won the Gambardella Cup (French FA Youth Cup) in 2008, with team-mates such as Théophile-Catherine, M’Vila and Brahimi. Shortly after this 3-0 victory at Stade de France against Bordeaux, the player from La Réunion signed his first professional contract at the club, which was also a reward for his first appearance on the team-sheet in the French Cup at Lorient. In his first season, though, he was left out of Lacombe’s plans, along with all the other new professional players in the squad, and only made one appearance in the squad. In the 2009/2010 season, Souprayen was loaned to Dijon, where he played a full season in Ligue 2. Back in Rennes after his loan spell, Antonetti planned to make Souprayen his first-choice left-back, and selected him for the pre-season friendlies. But an injury in July meant that Théophile-Catherine took full advantage of his absence to establish himself at the start of the season with flawless displays, and Souprayen was relegated to a role of understudy. Rarely able to make his mark in his 20 appearances, he was transferred to Dijon in the Summer of 2011.