Telegraph:
Manchester United transfer target Julien Escude increased the pressure on Rennes yesterday, by missing training and demanding that the French first division side speed up negotiations with United officials.
"As soon as I got back to the club in June I told them about my intentions to leave," Escude said.
"I think I have had my time in Rennes. When I arrived I was only a lower-league player but since then I have progressed and I have learnt enough here.
"It is necessary to seize the opportunities when they come up and I hope my managers will understand that. They might want to keep me but I am determined to leave."
The left-back, whose brother is the tennis player Nicolas, missed training yesterday complaining he was tired.
"It is not at all my way to act like this," he said. "On Sunday I called everyone to talk as I am somebody that does things the correct way. I explained to them that I was not very well, that my head was elsewhere.
"Manchester United and Alex Ferguson have coveted me for a while but it is thanks to the European Under-21 Championship that things stepped up," he added. "I met Ferguson once and since then the phone calls to my agent have increased. This is a great sign of recognition for me."