Rennes: We haven't had an offer for M'Vila yet

According to the club's president, Stade Rennais have yet to receive any actual offers from other clubs for their wantaway defensive midfield star Yann M'Vila, long rumored to be an Arsenal transfer target. All signs point to M'Vila leaving the French team this summer, but it appears that things are moving a bit more slowly than Rennes (or probably the player himself) would like.

In case you're keeping track, this is also the final nail in the coffin (if it wasn't already shut) of the reports we shared from May where it was claimed that he was "99%" an Arsenal player. Since, you know, actually offering a team money for a player is one of the early steps in the process, and certainly not 1% of the deal. Transfer journalism, everyone!

According to Frederic de Saint-Sernin, while the club understand M'Vila wishes to leave for hopefully greener pastures and evidently aren't asking for crazy money - ESPN says that "a fee in the region of £15 million has been suggested," which I can definitely get behind - the phones have been quiet.

We have agreed with him that he can be transferred this summer. There are several big foreign clubs interested in him. We are not doing anything to prevent him leaving right now - there have not been any offers.

So, what's taking Arsenal so long? There have been rumors that M'Vila's off-the-field life has left Arsenal and Arsene Wenger less than impressed, and that interest in the player had cooled. I'm not certain how much credence I give that, though it certainly is a possibility. It also could be a ploy to get his value dropped a bit, to stretch the club's transfer dollar.

What's more likely is that the internal player movement ballet is postponing any offers. This is less directly related to Robin van Persie and Theo Walcott and their new contracts or lack thereof, and probably more closely related to the culling of the unused. Carlos Vela appears to be well on the way out the door, and if a couple of other players find new homes we may see a bit more movement towards bringing in some more good players.

So, for those of you keeping score, nothing has actually happened with Yann M'Vila, aside from some news on the fact that nothing has actually happened. The thing that we thought had happened earlier evidently did not happen. But things might happen in the future, possibly even soon. Watch this space.