Man Utd & Liverpool take interest in promising Rennes left-back - report | OneFootball

Manchester United and Liverpool have both been named in a report among clubs showing interest in 22-year-old Rennes left-back Adrien Truffert.

Truffert started five of France's six games at the recent Olympics on home soil, receiving a silver medal at the end of the tournament. He has also been a first-team regular for Rennes since his 2020 debut and has played in European competition – including the Champions League – every season.

Having returned to training with Rennes on Tuesday morning after a post-Olympics break, L'Equipe writes there is interest from a number of teams in the Premier League. Manchester United and Liverpool are two of them, with Nottingham Forest and Wolves also identified.

There is said to be additional interest from domestic giants Paris Saint-Germain.

Truffert, who came through the same Rennes youth ranks that produced Eduardo Camavinga, Ousmane Dembele, Mathys Tel, Sylvain Wiltord and Mikael Silvestre among others, has a contract with the Ligue 1 side until 2026 and is potentially at a career crossroad.

Both United and Liverpool have reason to consider strengthening at left-back.

Truffert was a silver medallist at the recent Olympics / Marc Atkins/GettyImages

United have started the season without Luke Shaw, who was ruled out from February until the latter stages of Euro 2024, because of injury. The club are also still waiting on Tyrell Malacia's fitness, 15 months after his last game, due to lengthy recovery from a knee problem.

Centre-back Lisandro Martinez started the Community Shield on the left, while right-back Diogo Dalot filled the role for their Premier League opener last Friday night. Both Dalot and fellow right-back Noussair Mazraoui are adept on that side but the squad is still potentially stretched.

Someone like Truffert also represents the long-term, with Shaw set to turn 30 before next season.

Liverpool are similarly in a position where they have to consider the future. Long-serving Andrew Robertson has already celebrated his 30th birthday and struggled with injuries last season for the first time in his esteemed career. He missed almost four months after dislocating a shoulder in October, while a long-term ankle problem also troubled him ahead of Euro 2024.

Joe Gomez, typically a centre-back, spent large chunks of last season covering on the left. Usual deputy Kostas Tsimikas was also ruled for some of the campaign with a broken collarbone.

But Robertson started the opening day win over Ipswich Town at the weekend, replaced by Tsimikas for the final 11 minutes plus stoppage time at Portman Road.