Summary:
- Liverpool has agreed a £55m deal with Rennes for 20-year-old centre-back Jérémy Jacquet, with £5m in potential add-ons.
- Chelsea matched the offer, but Jacquet chose Liverpool for more playing opportunities.
- The signing addresses Liverpool’s thin options at centre-back.
2025 Premier League Champions Liverpool are set to win the race for one of France’s most talked-about young defenders, with the club reaching a verbal agreement with Rennes to sign centre-back Jérémy Jacquet in a deal that could rise to £60 million.
£55 Million Guaranteed Fee on the Table
The agreement includes a £55 million guaranteed fee, with a further £5 million tied to performance bonuses. The 20-year-old is expected to complete his medical in England on Deadline Day, ahead of a summer move to Anfield.
Chelsea were very much in the mix and, on paper, matched Liverpool’s offer exactly. However, over the past couple of days, the situation at Stamford Bridge appears to have shifted the player’s thinking.
With Mamadou Sarr set to return and Josh Acheampong staying put, Jérémy Jacquet decided Liverpool offered a clearer path and committed to the move.
That logic is easy to understand. Chelsea are stacked with centre-backs, including Trevoh Chalobah, Wesley Fofana, Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Axel Disasi, Aaron Anselmino and Jorrel Hato.
Levi Colwill could also return before the end of the season, while Sarr is due back from his loan at Strasbourg. Disasi is expected to leave before the deadline, and Anselmino is heading out on loan, but competition for minutes remains fierce.
Van Dijk and Konate Available, Home and Leoni on the Side
Liverpool’s situation looks very different. Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate are the only fit senior centre-backs available right now, with Joe Gomez and Giovanni Leoni sidelined.
Konate’s contract is also up at the end of the season, raising the possibility he could leave for nothing in the summer. Jacquet’s arrival is clearly about more than depth, it is about planning ahead.
The move comes after Liverpool failed to land Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace last summer. City eventually signed Guehi for £20 million in January, six months before his contract expired. Liverpool liked him, but not at that price, and instead turned their attention elsewhere.
French football expert Julien Laurens believes Jacquet is worth the gamble, even at a premium.
He’s the real deal. I know he’s only 20, he hasn’t played for France and he hasn’t played in the Champions League or Europa League. He has a long way to go but he’s been impressive last season, after they [Rennes] called him back from his loan in the second division, and this season, with Habib Beye. You can’t get it wrong. He is going to be amazing.