Hannover signs Nancy's Sane

May 30, 2013 - 4:22 PM Hannover, Germany (Sports Network) - Hannover announced Thursday that the club has signed defender Salif Sane from French side Nancy for an undisclosed fee.

The 22-year-old defender joins the Bundesliga club on a four-year contract to keep him at the AWD Arena until 2017.

"Salif is a young, ambitious player with plenty of potential," said Dirk Dufner, Hannover's director of sport. "We are very pleased that we have been able to sign a very strong tackler for our defense, and to have tied him down to us on a long-term deal."

Sane made a total of 70 appearances in Ligue 1 play for both Nancy and Bordeaux, his previous club.

Hannover narrowly missed out on European football for next season, finishing ninth in the Bundesliga this year with a total of 45 points.