Sakho joins Rennes from West Ham

Rennes - Senegalese centre-forward Diafra Sakho has returned to France, leaving West Ham United after four years for Ligue 1 side Rennes, the Brittany-based side said on Monday.

Rennes, sitting mid-table in France, hope to give Sakho his debut against leaders Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday, if the 28-year-old's papers are processed in time.

"I'm ready to play, maybe not to start the game but to play some part," Sakho told a press conference.

No fee was mentioned by either club for the man who scored 18 goals in 62 appearances for the Londoners after signing from Metz in 2014, but the deal is for two and a half seasons and is said to have cost Rennes £10 million ($14 million, 11.4 million euros).

"It's never easy to get a player from the Premier League, there were other people interested in England and France," said Rennes president Olivier Letang, who tried to sign Sakho in the summer.

"Rennes was the team I wanted to join, the president came after me and I appreciate that. It's a big club with a great history and big ambitions, so I signed with both pride and joy," Sakho told the club's website.