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Cape Town - Rennes president Olivier Letang has rubbished reports linking his club with a move for Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny.
The 33-year-old’s future is shrouded in doubt after he refused to travel on Arsenal’s pre-season tour of the United States, and Rennes have been heavily linked with a swoop.
Some reports have gone as far as claiming a deal is close but Letang has moved quickly to shut down such reports.
"We learned about [the so-called agreement] like you," he told media in France.
"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. No, we haven’t spoken to Arsenal since mid-June.
"For me, there’s no point talking with the player if the door isn’t open."
