Tottenham are now up and running in the summer transfer market after completing the permanent signing of Mathys Tel. Joining Spurs on loan from Bayern Munich in the January transfer window with the option to buy for £45.7million, the north London club negotiated a reduced transfer fee and wrapped up his signature in a deal worth £29.8million, plus a potential further £4.2million.
As Thomas Frank is now in place as head coach following Ange Postecoglou's dismissal, Tottenham transfer talk will no doubt start to ramp up over the coming days and weeks. Reports from L'Equipe in France claim that Tottenham are expected to step up their pursuit of Rennes striker Arnaud Kalimuendo.
Frank does have options in that position of the pitch but it remains to be seen what will happen with Richarlison this summer after three mixed seasons at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. So who exactly is Kalimuendo? football.london takes a look below.
Born in France in January 2002, Kalimuendo progressed through Paris Saint-Germain's academy and went on to make five senior appearances for the side from the French capital. His debut for the Parisians came in a 1-0 loss against Lens in September 2020.
Kalimuendo, who is a powerful and fast striker who links up well with his teammates, would in fact go on to join Lens the following month on a season-long loan deal, scoring eight goals in 30 appearances for the Ligue 1 club. The frontman impressed so much that he returned to Stade Bollaert-Delelis the following campaign on another season-long loan, this time hitting 13 goals in 35 appearances.
His Lens form duly saw him complete a €25million (£21million) move to Stade Rennes in 2022, who themselves had just lost Tel to Bayern Munich on a permanent deal a couple of weeks earlier. Kalimuendo did in fact get to play alongside Joe Rodon and Djed Spence for Rennes that campaign after the duo headed to the French club on loan from Tottenham.
In his first season for Les Rennais, the 23-year-old contributed with seven goals and five assists in his 38 appearances in all competitions. His final goal of the season came in a memorable 2-0 win away at former club PSG.
Since his debut campaign at Roazhon Park, Kalimuendo's goal tally has increased season on season after scoring 15 times in 2023/24 and 18 times last term. That in turn has seen him come to the attention of Newcastle United, Bayer Leverkusen and now Tottenham.
Utilised as striker for Rennes, there have been occasions where the attacker has instead operated from out wide. In a 3-0 win away at Angers at the end of March, Rennes boss Habib Beye played Kalimuendo on the right of a front three and it was a move that fully paid off as he scored twice and assisted Ismael Kone's goal.
"Arnaud has real strengths when it comes to evading pressure, especially with his first touch," explained Beye (via Ligue1.com). "I think those qualities come through more clearly when he plays on the right. He doesn’t lose pace there like he sometimes does on the left.
"He has the potential to score 20 goals in Ligue 1, maybe more. Arnaud is a major talent in this league. He just needs to keep pushing himself."
Kalimuendo, who is of Congolese descent, has represented France's youngsters at various levels on the international stage and he was also part of their squad for last year's Olympic games in Paris. After a fine season in Ligue 1 where he finished as the league's third-highest goalscorer, it would appear that the striker, who is out of contract with Rennes in 2027, is going to be on the move this summer, with a reported €30 million (£26million) fee mooted.
Speaking in a recent interview with L'Equipe, Rennes president Arnaud Pouille stated: "He is one of the players who had a lot of contacts in January. We have authorised him to speak with other clubs."
Kalimuendo has shown plenty of promise in his time with Lens and Rennes and he now looks on course to take the next step in his career. Given his age and attributes in his locker, there is still a lot more to come from Kalimuendo in the years ahead.