L'Équipe Report: Rennes interested in Hertha and Union flop Tousart
France's preeminent sporting publication reports that Union Berlin midfielder Lucas Tousart has at least one potential suitor in his native country.
Following disappointing stints with two German capital city sides over the past four seasons, French midfielder Lucas Tousart may be headed back home. The 26-year-old has seen his estimated market worth depreciate from a peak of €20 million in 2020 to €7 million today.
Berlin's Hertha BSC once paid a reported €25 million to acquire him in the famous failed transfer window under Jürgen Klinsmann in January of 2020. Following Hertha's relegation from the top flight last year, Berlin's Köpenick side 1. FC Union Berlin were able to acquire him for a pittance.
Tousart has made 13 appearances for Union across all competitions this year, but barely featured at all under the new coaching regime of Nenad Bjelica. The former French youth international didn't make Bjelica's first three match-day squads and failed to impress in a Champions' League start.
France's "L'Équipe" reports that Stade Rennes are interested in acquiring the former Lyon star, though the trade publication reports that Les Rennais maintain a greater interest in former VfB Stuttgart professional Orel Mangala to shore up their defensive midfield.
Mangala - who has seen his estimated market worth soar since transferring to Nottingham Forest in the summer of 2022 - is nevertheless being actively courted by other clubs and may be seen as too expensive an option. Union would likely raise no objections to Tousart's departure.