Jacquet set for Liverpool medical before £60m move
Liverpool agree a £60m deal with Rennes for defender Jeremy Jacquet, with the player set to join the Reds in the summer.
Rennes defender Jeremy Jacquet is set to have a medical at Liverpool before finalising a potential £60m move to Anfield – but the centre-half will not be joining the club in the current transfer window.
If the transfer is completed, the 20-year-old will switch to the Reds in the summer, after the clubs reached agreement on a £55m fee plus £5m in add-ons.
The France Under-21 international would sign a five-year deal until the summer of 2031 with the option of a further year.
Chelsea are known to have held talks with Jacquet during the winter window, but it is understood they will not match Liverpool‘s bid.
Liverpool are looking to bolster their centre-back options, with France defender Ibrahima Konate’s current contract set to expire at the end of this season.
Arne Slot’s side missed out on Marc Guehi last summer, with the England centre-half then opting to join Manchester City in January.
Jacquet came through the Rennes academy and has played for the club 18 times this season, with a string of standout performances making him a target for some of Europe’s elite sides – and Liverpool see him as a long-term investment.
Rennes unwilling to sanction January move – analysis
Liverpool are spending a lot of money for a player that has played just 36 times in Ligue 1 but they see Jeremy Jacquet as a massive long-term investment.
To get a sense of how highly Jacquet is rated, Liverpool have fought off competition from Chelsea and Bayern Munich while Arsenal showed interest in the defender last summer.
Liverpool could definitely have done with the centre-back joining now but the fact is that he wasn’t available to move in January, with Rennes unwilling to sanction a transfer until the summer.
The Frenchman is comfortable on the ball and can play in a back three or a back four, while Liverpool are impressed with his senior experience in Ligue 1. He is expected to fit a possession-based system while his aerial ability and defensive reading skills are all noted too.
Of course, there’s plenty of room to still improve but this is a move that once again shows Liverpool‘s succession planning for their back line. Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong and Giovanni Leoni all joined in the summer while they have made a number of youth signings in this window too.
Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez’s contracts expire in the summer of 2027 while it remains to be seen if Ibrahima Konate or Andy Robertson will still be at the club next season. As it stands, both are out of contract this summer.
