Liverpool have won the race for Rennes star Jeremy Jacquet, beating Chelsea to the young defender, but their £60million deadline day transfer hasn’t solved their problem
Arne Slot has signed a defender – but hasn’t seen his issue resolved(Image: AFP/Getty Images)
Liverpool have successfully hijacked Chelsea’s move for Rennes defender Jeremy Jacquet, but their deadline day deal has not solved Arne Slot’s biggest problem. It emerged on Sunday evening that the Reds had agreed a £60million deal for Jacquet, yet he won’t arrive until the summer.
Jacquet is a highly-rated 20-year-old centre-back who has been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League for some time. Chelsea have held talks with Rennes and Jacquet’s representatives during the January transfer window, but will not match Liverpool’s offer of £55m plus £5m in add-ons.
He will sign a five-year contract until the summer of 2031 with the option of a further year in a clear blow to Liam Rosenior’s plans. Chelsea also have defensive injuries and there is anger that they have missed out on a major transfer target to a Premier League rival.
The deal is therefore being considered as a coup for Liverpool, who have reacted after missing out on Marc Guehi to Manchester City. Slot’s side had agreed a £35m deal for Guehi on deadline day in September only for Crystal Palace to pull the plug and the England defender to end up at City in January instead.
FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FB PAGE! Latest Reds news and more on our dedicated Facebook page
READ MORE: Transfer deadline day LIVE: Arsenal linked with shock Tonali move, Liverpool hijack Chelsea’s £61m deal, Man Utd latestREAD MORE: What time does the transfer window close today? Deadline day rules explained
They moved on to other targets and landed on Jacquet after it became clear that Lutsharel Geertruida would not be available. Geertruida is on loan with Sunderland from RB Leipzig and the complications involved in securing a fresh loan deal – which would have required compensation for the Black Cats – was deemed unworkable.
Liverpool are in desperate need of defensive reinforcements, with Jeremie Frimpong, Conor Bradley, Joe Gomez and Giovanni Leoni all sidelined. Slot was forced to play midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai at right-back once again in the 4-1 win over Newcastle on Saturday and spelt out his desire for new signings post-match.
“I think we are trying to strengthen the squad and not trying to weaken it,” Slot said on Saturday. “But yeah, 48 hours to go. Let’s see where the window ends up.”
Jeremy Jacquet will stay with Rennes until the summer(Image: Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)
Jacquet will undoubtedly strengthen the squad – but crucially not until the summer. The youngster is understood to want to stay with Rennes for the rest of the season in order to help the French side qualify for Europe. They are currently in sixth place in Ligue 1, occupying a Conference League place.
Liverpool currently have no depth in central defence, with summer signing Leoni out for the season with an ACL injury and fellow back-up Gomez also injured. It means Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk are the only available specialist central defenders, with midfielders Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endo the next best options for Slot.
To make matters worse, Konate’s Liverpool contract runs out at the end of the campaign and little progress has been made on a new one. Liverpool are still competing on three fronts, sitting sixth in the Premier League table, two points adrift of the top four, while they are through to the last 16 of the Champions League and the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Join our LFC WhatsApp community and get all the latest LFC news, views, transfer gossip and more, as it happens We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
£49
£35
Sky
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £336 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.