Toulouse defender Charlie Cresswell is set to join Rennes in a deal worth 25 million euros, making him the second most expensive player ever sold by the French club. The agreement was reached late on Friday, and Cresswell is expected to complete his medical on Sunday before signing is finalised on Monday at the latest.
The transfer was confirmed by Ouest-France and Le Parisien and is structured as a paid loan for one season that will convert into a permanent move next summer. The arrangement is known in football finance as an OAO, a mandatory purchase option, which activates automatically once basic sporting targets are met. Toulouse will receive 2.5 million euros immediately, with the remaining 22.5 million due in a year’s time.
Additional bonuses of around 3 million euros were reported by L’Equipe, and according to separate sources a sell-on percentage, typically between 10 and 20 percent, is also included in the agreement.
Second-biggest sale in club history
Cresswell, 23, arrived at Toulouse two years ago for 4.5 million euros. At 25 million euros he becomes the second-highest sale in the club’s history, ahead of Cheikh Diop, who moved to West Ham for 24 million euros in the summer of 2018, and behind Brazilian striker Emersonn, who joined Ipswich in the Premier League for a reported 28 million euros plus four million in add-ons less than three weeks ago.
The two clubs had failed to reach an agreement when the transfer window opened in June. The deal was finalised on Friday evening while Toulouse were playing a preseason friendly against Real Sociedad in Tarbes, which they won 2-1. Cresswell was in the matchday squad but did not play, and was seen before the game in a long conversation with club president Olivier Cloarec.
Toulouse sporting director Viktor Bezhani will now lead the search for a replacement, though sources close to the club said there was no intention to rush. The club’s defensive setup has shifted from a back four to two central defenders, with Rasmus Nicolaisen, Seny Koumbassa and Mark McKenzie already in the squad for preseason.
