Jeremy Jacquet is heading to Merseyside after Liverpool agreed to an $82 million deal with Rennes – but the French defender isn’t going anywhere until this summer
Danny Murphy has offered his opinion(Image: talkSPORT)
Danny Murphy has questioned Liverpool’s decision to let Jeremy Jacquet finish the season at Rennes after snapping up the young defender.
The Reds have agreed to sign Jacquet from French club Rennes, but he won’t join Arne Slot’s squad until the summer. Liverpool will pay an initial $75 million (£55 million) for the 20-year-old, with a further $7 million (£5 million) potentially coming in add-ons.
Liverpool fans were hoping Jacquet would join the squad now, with Slot in desperate need of defensive reinforcements. Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni will not play again this season, while Joe Gomez and Jeremie Frimpong are both nursing injuries.
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That’s left Liverpool light at the back.
Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate are required to play pretty much every game at center-back, while the likes of Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch are frequently asked to play as auxiliary defenders.
Former Reds midfielder Murphy is among those baffled by Liverpool’s decision. He told the BBC’s Match of the Day: “It’s odd, especially because they are so reliant on the Van Dijk-Konate partnership.
Jeremy Jacquet is heading to Anfield… but not until the summer(Image: Getty Images)
“I wouldn’t find it as odd if they are only fighting for the Premier League, because they’re out of it, but they’ve got a great chance in the Champions League, and they don’t really have any cover because Gomez is never fit.”
There’s still hope Liverpool will make a late defensive signing before the transfer window closes at 7pm local time on Monday (2pm ET).
Marc Guehi was strongly linked with the Reds earlier in the window after missing out on a transfer last September. The England international was due to join Liverpool on the previous deadline day, but Crystal Palace pulled out of the deal at the last minute.
The Reds decided against reviving their interest in Guehi, allowing Manchester City to swoop in and sign the 25-year-old last month.
Lutsharel Geertruida was another player linked with a move to Merseyside. The 25-year-old defender – who can play at right-back, center-back and in defensive midfield – worked with Slot at Feyenoord and is currently impressing on loan at Sunderland.
The Reds were keen on signing Geertruida on loan from RB Leipzig on deadline day, but they needed the player to return from his loan spell at Sunderland first. The Black Cats are not interested in losing Geertruida at such a late stage in the transfer window.
Jacquet is one of the most promising talents in French soccer after breaking into Rennes’ first team.
He’s made 18 appearances in Ligue 1 this season and is viewed as an outside candidate to make France’s squad for the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico later this year.