After joining Swansea City for a fee of 3.5m Euros last summer, French defender Franck Tabanou is set to return to Saint-Etienne on loan for the rest of the season. 

Frustration at Swansea

After making just three cup appearances since arriving in Wales seven months ago, it is easy to see why the former French under-21 international left-back would be frustrated about playing time. He is yet made an appearance in the Premier League and, for a young defender who has been a starter throughout his career, not playing can be frustrating. After the confirmation of his depature, he hit out at the club that signed him a few months ago (via ESPNFC). 

"I don't understand. And I think that, if I stayed, my situation would not have developed. The club is not in a great position and despite that they never played me." said the Frenchmen. 

Image via SkySports
Image via SkySports.

Although he is right that Swansea are not doing great, they are sitting near the relegation zone, coming out and critising the club is pretty bold.

Saint Etienne staying strong in France

AS Saint-Etienne sit fourth in the Ligue 1 table and they have a strong chance at even finishing second. With PSG cruising at the top, the other two Champions League spots are up for grabs. Just five points seperate second place Monaco and fifth place Rennes

ASSE have won three of their last four games as they recently beat AngersLyon and AC Ajaccio. Although they lost to PSG in the Coupe de la Ligue Round of 16, ASSE are fighting to play in Europe next year. 

Tabanou made 38 appearances and scored two goals for the club last year and will be looking to come back and make an impact for the club. Maybe England wasn't his right fit for the youngster. 

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Vijay Vemu
Vijay is a sports journalist who covers mainly the NBA and soccer. He is a credential reporter on the Chicago Fire and also covers NBA for VAVEL as well. He is also a editor for Mash Chicago, the publication of the Chicago Tribune. He is also a contributor at SB Nation's Blog A Bull and Big East Coast Bias as well as writing on European Soccer as well. He plans on attending the University of Illnois at Chicago (UIC) in the fall with a major in computer science. You can follow him on Twitter : @VJVemu