Talks between the Black Cats and the Ligue 1 club have reached an advanced stage, with Mayenda set to leave Wearside after three years as a Black Cats player.
The 21-year-old is understood to have been given permission to hold talks with Rennes officials, with the personal terms of his proposed move to France unlikely to present a problem.
Mayenda will have to undergo a medical before the transfer is finalised, but the Sunderland hierarchy have decided to cash in on a player who was unable to hold down a regular first-team starting spot under Regis Le Bris last season.
The Spaniard will be joining a Rennes side who finished sixth in the Ligue 1 table last season, and who could potentially find themselves lining up against Sunderland in next season’s Europa League.
Mayenda joined Sunderland from Sochaux in the summer of 2023 for a fee of around £1m, and while Sochaux are understood to have a significant sell-on clause, the Black Cats will still bank a huge profit from his sale.
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Mayenda struggled to make an impact in his first season in English football, and also found himself on the fringe of things when he headed to Hibernian on a loan move in the second half of the 2023-24 campaign.
His fortunes were transformed in the following season, however, as he made 37 appearances in the regular Championship programme, scoring eight goals.
His greatest moments as a Sunderland player then came in the play-offs as he scored an 88th-minute winner in the first leg of the semi-final against Coventry City and memorably scored the Black Cats’ first goal in their Wembley final win over Sheffield United.
He started the opening game of last season, scoring against West Ham, but finished the campaign having made just eight Premier League starts, the last of which came against Leeds United in early March.
His departure will reduce Le Bris’ attacking options, and with doubts continuing to surround the future of fellow forward, Wilson Isidor, Sunderland are expected to sign at least one new forward this summer.
