Kamaldeen Sulemana was desperate to leave – Rennais coach Bruno Genesio

According to Genesio, Sulemana became so impatient and all he focused was on how to leave the Ligue 1 club.

After their game against Strasbourg on Wednesday, Genesio said: “It's not that it never took. There were good beginnings, then periods of injury and poor form. A team that started to turn, to chain victories and it was more difficult for him.

"There was also impatience, because he is still a very young player. It still needs to be trained.

“He wanted to leave, it was not our case. But he wanted it so badly that at some point, it's not worth keeping a player who doesn't want to play for a club.

"I prefer to get a player who wants to come, who is motivated to play for his club."

Sulemana signed for English Premiership club Southampton on January 31 and coach of the club Nathan Jones hailed him as a player that can help their battle for survival.

Speaking on the arrival of the new player, Southampton manager Nathan Jones said he has no doubt the player will make an immediate impact to help the team.

Kamaldeen Sulemana joins Southampton Pulse Ghana

“This is another really positive addition for us this month. We’ve obviously been keen to add a little more potency to the side, and Kamaldeen is someone who does that for us.

“He’s at a stage in his career where we feel he can help us in the immediate term, but also continue to grow and develop further into the future,” the Southampton manager said

To announce the signing, Southampton in an official statement said, “Southampton Football Club is delighted to announce the signing of forward Kamaldeen Sulemana from Rennes, subject to a work permit and international clearance.”

Sulemana enjoyed a breakthrough campaign in Ligue 1 last season after joining Rennes from Danish side FC Nordsjaelland.