Liverpool beat Chelsea to win the young defender in the race to sign Rennes star Jeremy Jacquet, but a deadline day transfer fee of £60m doesn’t solve the problem.
Arne Slott signs defender, but issues remain unresolved (Image: AFP/Getty Images)
Liverpool have successfully usurped Rennes defender Jeremy Jacquet’s move from Chelsea, but their deadline-day signing does not solve Arne Slott’s biggest problem. On Sunday night, it emerged that the Reds had agreed a £60m deal with Jaquet, but he will not arrive until the summer.
Jacquet is a highly rated 20-year-old centre-back who has been linked with a move to the Premier League for some time. Chelsea held talks with Rennes and Jacquet’s agents during the January transfer window, but they are unlikely to come close to Liverpool’s offer of £55m plus a further £5m.
He is a clear blow to Liam Rosenior’s plans, penning a five-year deal until the summer of 2031 with the option of a further year. Chelsea also have injuries in their defense and there is widespread anger at missing out on a major move to their Premier League rivals.
The deal is therefore seen as a coup for Liverpool, who were repulsed by the loss of Marc Guehi to Manchester City. Slott had agreed a £35m deal with Guehi on deadline day in September, but Crystal Palace withdrew and the England defender will move to City in January instead.
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After it became clear that Lutcharel Giltruida was unavailable, they moved on to other targets and landed on Jaquet. Geertruida is on loan at Sunderland from RB Leipzig and the complications involved in securing a new loan deal (which would require compensation to the Black Cats) were deemed unfeasible.
Liverpool are in dire need of reinforcements in defense, with Jeremy Frimpong, Conor Bradley, Joe Gomez and Giovanni Leoni all absent. Slott was forced to play again at right-back alongside midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai in Saturday’s 4-1 win over Newcastle, and spoke after the game about his hopes for the new signing.
“I think we’re trying to strengthen our team, not weaken our team,” Slott said Saturday. “But we have 48 hours left. Let’s see where the window goes.”
Jeremy Jaquet will remain at Rennes until the summer (Image: Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)
Jaquet will definitely strengthen the squad, but it won’t be crucial until the summer. The youngster is understood to want to remain at Rennes for the remainder of the season in order to help the French team qualify for Europe. They currently sit 6th in Ligue 1 and occupy a Conference League position.
Liverpool currently lack depth in central defence, having signed Leoni in the summer with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, and fellow substitute Gomez also injured. That means Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk are the only specialist central defenders, with midfielders Ryan Gravenbirch and Wataru Endo the next best options in the slot.
To make matters worse, Konate’s contract with Liverpool expired at the end of the season and there was little progress towards a new deal. Liverpool are still playing on three fronts, sitting in sixth place in the Premier League, two points behind the top four, while having reached the last 16 of the Champions League and the fourth round of the FA Cup.
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