Although it was reported recently that Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester City were all scouting Rennes’s talented 16-year-old midfielder, Eduardo Camavinga, it seems the two London clubs made an offer for him in the summer.

Camavinga plays as a defensive midfielder for Rennes and, despite only being 16, has played every minute of their season so far.

It’s perhaps not surprising, therefore, that bigger clubs are interested in him while he is still young enough to command a relatively reasonable fee.

According to L’Equipe, Arsenal and Tottenham made an offer for the player in the summer (along with Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich) but Rennes turned them all down, despite clubs apparently also offering a two-year loan back to the French side.

A player who former Rennes coach, Landry Chavin, says ‘breaths football,’ Camavinga is impressing everyone who watches as he glides around the pitch with ‘serenity’.

Rennes, however, are in no hurry to sell him. Their manager, Julien Stéphan, recently told the same publication, “We know that he has a very big potential, that we will continue to develop. I hope for him that he will, in the coming months, settle long term in the team.”

His family seem in no rush to get him a big money move, either, which is nice to see, even if it does impact Arsenal’s ability to sign the player who is still just a child. “It is the grace of God, it is he who has given him the talent, and we hope to go as far as possible with Rennes,” said his father, Célestino.

With a big move comes more pressure and they are right to shield him from that as long as possible. “It will be necessary to both expose and protect him,” added Stéphan.

He is, after all, not 17 until November.

Last week, Camavinga signed an extension with Rennes until 2022 with his former teammate, Hatem Ben Arfa (who is currently without a club) saying, “Technically and physically, he is a monster. This is the player we lacked last season.”