Rennes deny Laurent Koscielny agreement

Rennes president Olivier Letang has denied that his club have reached an agreement with Arsenal captain Laurent Koscielny over a summer move.

Earlier this week, it was reported that Rennes had agreed a contract with the 33-year-old and would now look to settle on a transfer fee with the Gunners.

Letang has said that his club have previously held talks with the former France international but has insisted that there is no truth to the current rumours.

"We learned about [the so-called agreement] like you," Letang told Foot Mercato. "Even my son told me it seems Koscielny is on his way. I told him that was false. He's a good player with a lot of experience at international level.

"We met him twice last year. When we heard there was a chance he could leave in early June, we called Arsenal to ask if that was true because we could be interested.

"Around mid-June, they got back to us and told us they wanted to renew him. He wasn't for sale. We haven't had any more talks with the player. We have great respect for other clubs. We can't talk with a player if the team don't want him to leave, so I can say what came out this weekend is false and isn't current."

Koscielny declined to link up with the Arsenal squad on their pre-season tour of the United States, and Gunners boss Unai Emery has since said that the centre-back could be on his way out of the Emirates Stadium.