Six Premier League clubs now tracking Ligue 1 stricker Esteban Lepaul as price tag reaches £51m

The Premier League race for Rennes striker Esteban Lepaul has expanded to six clubs, with Everton, Leeds United, Brentford and Brighton and Hove Albion joining Manchester City and Aston Villa in monitoring the 26-year-old, according to journalist Ekrem Konur. Stade Rennais are understood to want between £42.5m and £51m for their top scorer, who marked his return from international duty with his fourth Ligue 1 goal of the season on Sunday in the 6-1 victory over Auxerre.

Lepaul had gone four games without scoring before Sunday’s fixture at Roazhon Park, but the return to form — timed alongside the widening European interest in his services — underlines why the Brittany club are bracing for a significant battle to retain him beyond this season.

Rennes transfer news: who is Esteban Lepaul and why is interest growing

Lepaul finished as the top scorer in Ligue 1 last season and earned a first France call-up under new manager Zinedine Zidane during the recent international break, starting twice in comfortable victories over Belgium. His contract at Stade Rennais runs until June 2030, giving the club firm control over any sale, but the club’s hierarchy are under no illusion that retaining him at the end of 2026-27 will be considerably more difficult given the field now assembling.

His current market valuation stands at approximately £38m. Rennes are targeting between £42.5m and £51m, a fee that reflects both his contract length and the expectation that his value will continue to rise as the season develops.

Rennes transfer news: the full picture of clubs in contention

Manchester City and Aston Villa were the first Premier League sides to be publicly linked with Lepaul. The four new entrants reported by Konur — Everton, Leeds United, Brentford and Brighton and Hove Albion — represent clubs further down the Premier League hierarchy who may be calculating that the absence of Champions League-level competition from the Rennais striker’s profile gives them a more realistic path to completing a deal.

Interest is not confined to England. Inter Milan have also been tracking Lepaul, and Benfica have been linked with a move. No concrete offer has yet been tabled by any club, and Rennes have made clear that any proposal will be measured against both his current valuation and wherever his performances take him before the end of the campaign — in club football and with France.