<p><strong>Emmanuel Riviere joins Toulouse FC from AS Saint-Etienne – Official Ligue 1 report</strong></p>
<p>Ligue 1 side, Toulouse FC have finally signed 21-year-old French striker Emmanuel Riviere from fellow Ligue 1 outfit Saint-Etienne.</p>
<p>The youngster was linked with a move to the Stadium Municipal for a long time and Toulouse have now formalised the transfer of a young striker who they wanted to sign last summer. At that time, the youngster had signed a three-year extension to his contract.</p>
<p>However, a few days ago, Riviere had expressed his desire to leave the Rhone-Alpes club to join the Ville Rose.</p>
<p>The 21-year-old has now left Les Verts after spending almost three seasons at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.</p>
<p>An official statement on Toulouse’s website read, “Toulouse Football Club has just completed the signing of Emmanuel Riviere for a period of four years. Riviere (21) is a French centre forward from Martinique which is near Saint-Etienne.”</p>
<p>The amount of the transfer fees is believed to be in the region of 6.2 million Euros which can be considered a bargain for Les Pitchouns.</p>
<p>The transfer appears to be a huge relief for Riviere who was also attracting considerable interest from Stade Rennais, FC Lorient and English Premier League side Arsenal. Toulouse were also monitoring the striker’s situation at Saint-Etienne for a long time
and have now done well in securing the services of their long-term target.</p>
<p>For Les Verts, this might be bad news as the exodus at the Rhone club continues. After the departure of Dimitri Payet to LOSC Lille, Emmanuel Riviere has become the second Saint-Etienne player who has been sold. Midfield engine, Blaise Matuidi is also linked
with a move away from the club along with Cote d'Ivoire international Sanogo.</p>
<p>Emmanuel Riviere played 73 league games for Les Verts and scored just 17 goals. However the youngster is considered to be a promising talent and his goalscoring form might be discovered in Toulouse where Riviere always wanted to go.</p>
<p>Riviere has also represented France at Under 16, 17, 18 and 21 levels but is yet to be capped by the senior side. A move to Toulouse might change all that for the highly-rated striker.</p>
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