Liverpool have agreed a £60m deal for Rennes centre-back Jeremy Jacquet, but that hasn’t stopped Manchester United’s slow move.
Jeremy Jaquet is closing in on a move to Liverpool (Image: (Ramsey Cardy – Sportsfile/UEFA via Getty Images))
MANCHESTER UNITED have made a last-ditch attempt to steal a move from Jeremy Jacquet to Liverpool. News broke late on Sunday night that the Reds had reached an agreement with Rennes to sign the centre-back this summer.
The reigning Premier League champions held talks with the French side over the weekend and have reached a pre-agreement agreement for the 20-year-old, worth an initial £55m plus £5m in add-ons. But according to journalist Florian Plettenberg, United’s attempt to steal a transfer on Sunday night failed as the defender had already signed an agreement with Liverpool.
Chelsea approached Stade Rene about signing Jaquet in early January, but the French club were reluctant to allow him to leave midway through the season. This meant that Jacquet had to choose between Chelsea and Liverpool, where he had hoped to move in the summer, and chose the latter believing he had a better chance of playing regular first-team football at Anfield.
Jaquet’s move to Liverpool comes amid uncertainty over Ibrahima Konate’s future. The Frenchman’s contract expires in the summer and he has been linked with a move to Real Madrid.
Meanwhile, United are set to end the January transfer window quietly, with deadline day activity expected to focus on securing the departure of some of their academy graduates. Michael Carrick provided an update Friday, saying, “Honestly, I think we’re just working on it. Of course, I’m not saying never, because a lot of things can happen and things can get confusing.”
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“Sometimes it’s in our control, but sometimes we have to deal with things that are out of our control. I’m pretty calm. I think we showed what we can do as a team. We’ll have to see what happens over the next few days, but I’m definitely calm about it.”
On the pitch, Benjamin Sesco’s stoppage-time winner continued Carrick’s dramatic resurgence as they returned to the Premier League’s top four with a 3-2 win over Fulham on Sunday. Goals from Casemiro and Matheus Cunha gave United a 2-0 lead, before Raul Jimenez and Kevin equalized.
Moments later, however, substitute Sesco fired the ball past Bernd Leno for United to celebrate again. After the game, Carrick said: “A lot happened in today’s game and we knew what a good team Fulham were coming into the game.
“There were questions being asked about the team sitting here and we knew it would never be in that situation today.
Michael Carrick and Benjamin Sesco after Man United’s win over Fulham (Image: Robbie Jay Barratt/Getty Images)
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“They’re a good team. We knew we had to answer a lot of questions and we did a lot of the time. The players worked hard and were really desperate to win the game.
“It’s huge for Ben (Sesco) to come on and have a moment like that. It was good for him to get that moment in front of the Stretford End. There’s no better place to score a winner.”
“This is a big moment for everyone and you could see that in the way everyone celebrated, from the staff to the supporters. It was one of those special moments.”
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