Kyogo Furuhashi has hinted his motivation for quitting Celtic to move to Ligue 1 was to secure a World Cup spot.
Celtic surprisingly sold the Japanese ace last month in a shock £10 million deal to Rennes.
He made his debut at the weekend in a 1-0 win over Strasbourg.
Kyogo has twice suffered international heartbreak at Celtic when he was snubbed for both the World Cup in 2022 and the Asian Cup after that.
He was recalled last year, however, he's told media in his homeland that he is desperate to reach the next World Cup in Canada, USA and Mexico next year.
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He said: "I think that if I can prove my strength here in France by playing every week I will be called up by the national team again and I will be able to show a different side of myself.
"I cannot claim to be called up with certainty, but if he can demonstrate my ability at Rennes, it definitely adds to my chances.
"I just want to make an impact here and create chances for my teammates. "I'm very pleased we won in my opening game.
"There are a lot of players in France with very high technical abilities and I know I will challenge myself every day."
