Rennes (France) (AFP) – Rennes have chosen Bruno Genesio as their new coach to replace Julien Stephan, who resigned earlier this week, a source close to the French Ligue 1 club confirmed to AFP on Wednesday.

Genesio returns to his home country where he previously spent three and a half years in charge of Lyon before departing in 2019.

The 54-year-old then had a stint in China with Beijing Guoan but he left at the start of this year when his contract was not renewed.

Stephan quit Rennes on Monday after a run of just one win in 10 matches which saw the Brittany outfit slip to ninth in the Ligue 1 table.

He had been in charge since December 2018 and led the team to victory in the French Cup in 2019, their first major trophy since 1971.

Under Stephan Rennes then finished a best-ever third in the last Ligue 1 season, which was curtailed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

That saw them qualify for the Champions League for the first time in their history, but they finished bottom with just one point in a group also containing Chelsea, Sevilla and Krasnodar of Russia.