Toulouse signs Toivonen from Rennes

Swedish attacking midfielder and second striker Ola Toivonen has traded the Breton sights of Rennes for the pleasures of the River Garonne after joining Toulouse on Thursday on a three-year deal.

Toivonen, 30, was unveiled by the club after passing a medical, joining Toulouse on the heels of an erratic loan spell with Sunderland last season. The 47-time capped international appeared in 12 matches for Sam Allardyce's Black Cats during an uneventful season-long loan.

(Courtesy: @ToulouseFC)

The angular Swede's move to Wearside came after joining Les Rouges et Noirs on a €2.5-million move from PSV in January 2014. With Rennes, Toivonen managed 14 goals in 46 appearances for the club before moving to Sunderland to join former Eindhoven gaffer Dick Advocaat.

Toulouse will be hoping that Toivonen can help fill the void left by Wissam Ben Yedder's departure to Sevilla. That's a big ask considering that Ben Yedder has bagged no fewer than 14 goals in any of the last four Ligue 1 campaigns while making at least 34 appearances in each of those seasons.

Toivonen is Les Pitchouns' fourth signing of the summer alongside Christopher Jullien, Ibrahim Sangare, and Jessy Pi as Pascal Dupraz's lot look to better last season's narrow relegation avoidance.