Téji Savanier chooses Metz for promotion push after Serin talks | OneFootball

Téji Savanier, 34, has joined Metz on a one-year deal with an optional second, opting for their bid to return to Ligue 1 after seven seasons at Montpellier.

According to L'Équipe, president Bernard Serin unveiled the signing during a tightly kept media call at Saint-Symphorien, hailing Savanier’s quality and recalling his 14 assists as Ligue 1’s top creator in 2018-2019.

Leaving his native south for the north-east, Savanier joked he would simply wrap up if the cold bites. He met Serin a week ago and was struck by how the president spoke about Metz as family, and he indicated that moving solely for higher wages, including interest from Saudi Arabia, did not appeal.

The first contact came via boules games involving Serin’s grandson and Savanier at a mutual friend’s, a world champion in the sport, before a meeting at Serin’s wine estate in Canet. Metz beat Angers and Le Havre to the deal, while the player had long hoped for interest from Nice.

Free for nearly a month and a half, he has been working with a fitness coach while holidaying in Palavas-les-Flots. The former Montpellier captain has 200 Ligue 1 appearances and 48 goals, including a direct free-kick in a 3-1 win at Saint-Symphorien on 1 December 2021. He will wear the number 10 shirt vacated by Gauthier Hein, who has joined Nice, and his task is to help Metz go up.

Source: L'Équipe

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”