Liverpool completed a blockbuster transfer for Jeremy Jacquet on transfer deadline day and there is still plenty of speculation doing the rounds despite the window being closed
Liverpool had a thrilling end to the January transfer window as they secured a huge £60m deal under the noses of Premier League rivals.
The reigning Premier League champions sealed a deal for acclaimed French centre-back Jeremy Jacquet, 20, from Rennes, who had long been a transfer target for Chelsea. And they saw off a late hijack attempt from Manchester United for the defender’s services, although he won’t make the move from Ligue 1 to Merseyside until the summer.
Having failed to bolster their squad for the remainder of the current season, Arne Slot and his men will now turn their attention back to Premier League matters this weekend, welcoming Manchester City to Anfield as they seek to improve their league position and enhance their prospects of securing Champions League qualification. Here’s all the latest news from Anfield.
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Jeremy Jacquet speaks on move
Jacquet will arrive at Liverpool on July 1 on a five-year deal, with the option of a sixth.
The 20-year-old will cost the Reds an initial £55m with a further £5m in add-ons, which will see him become the second most expensive defender of all time on Merseyside, behind captain Virgil van Dijk, who joined from Southampton for £75m in January 2018.
Jacquet, who has captained France at every stage at youth level, has started 18 of 20 league games for Rennes this season, missing two through suspension, and he has been a key figure for a side who are competing for a European place this term in sixth.
Rennes coach Habib Beye said: “It’s the best deal we could hope for. We negotiated the transfer, obtained the amount that the club looked for, we respected the player’s wish and we have him for the remainder of the season.
“It’s the reality of the market. The club he joins will offer him Champions League football and what is currently the best league in the world. We simply don’t have the means to fight.”
According to the Telegraph, Jacquet was “open” to a move to Chelsea, but “his preference soon changed when Liverpool got involved”. In a statement on Rennes website, Jacquet explained why he had signed for England’s most successful football club.
He said: “I am honoured to sign for Liverpool, one of the greatest football institutions in the world. It was also very important for me to finish my time in Red and Black on a high note, at my boyhood club, the club I love.
“I’m approaching this second half of the season with the desire to experience some great moments with my team-mates and the fans.”
Joel Ordonez boost
Liverpool have received encouraging news regarding Club Brugge sensation Joel Ordonez’s future, reports the Mirror.
The Reds had been touted as suitors for the 21-year-old defender in recent weeks, though other clubs had shown interest ahead of Monday’s deadline.
The Athletic reported Crystal Palace had submitted an offer for Ordonez on deadline day, but this was promptly knocked back by Brugge, with no follow-up bid materialising since.
Liverpool were previously rumoured to be interested in signing Ordonez, before agreeing the deal for Jacquet. Whether the Reds will continue to be linked with Ordonez, now the Jacquet signing has been finalised, remains to be seen.
Curtis Jones’ future
In other news, the agent of Inter Milan’s Davide Frattesi has claimed Liverpool blocked Curtis Jones from leaving during the January transfer window.
Jones was reportedly on Inter’s radar before Monday’s deadline, with talk of a potential loan move with an option to buy. However, Liverpool refused to let the England midfielder depart before the deadline, which subsequently affected Nottingham Forest’s pursuit of Frattesi, 26.
The Italian midfielder’s representative, Giuseppe Riso, explained how Liverpool’s decision to keep their 25-year-old homegrown star at Anfield thwarted the Inter player’s potential move.
“There was interest from Lazio and Nottingham,” Riso revealed to Sky Sports Italy. “Then Liverpool wouldn’t let Jones go, and in the end, everything ground to a halt. Inter don’t want to do without him right now and didn’t want to move on.”