Liverpool have beaten off competition from Chelsea to steal a march and agree a summer move for Stade Rennais defender Jeremy Jacquet.
The Reds have agreed a £55 million fee for the France under-21 centre half, with a potential £5 million in add-ons, to beat the Blues to the highly-rated youngsters’ signature.
The defender passed his medical with the club on Monday with the deal subject to a work permit and international clearance.
It was initially believed Chelsea were favourites but according to Sky Sports, Jacquet began to lean towards Liverpool amid concerns over game-time with the London club.
Chelsea had offered the exact same deal as the Reds but the emergence of Mamadou Sarr returning to the Blues from his loan at RC Strasbourg and Josh Acheampong staying, the Frenchman swayed toward a move to Anfield.
Jacquet has agreed a five-year deal with the Champions, with an option to extend by a year from the initial 2031 end.
The deal was agreed for the summer with Rennes unwilling to lose their starlet mid-season.
Who is Jeremy Jacquet and Why do Liverpool want him?
Jacquet, 20, came through Rennes’ academy, making his debut as a substitute in January 2024 at 18 in a 2-0 home win against OGC Nice.
The youngster spent the latter half of the 2023/2024 season and the first half of the 2024/2025 season on loan at Clermont Foot, making 24 appearances and scoring twice.
After being recalled from the loan in February 2025, Jacquet established himself in the Rennes starting 11, starting all 11 of his games for the remainder of the season.
His form impressed the likes of Arsenal over the summer, but the defender stayed at Rennes.
The impressive performances continued across Jacquet’s 19 games in all competitions so far this season.
The quality of Jacquet’s performances lead to further interest from European Giants such as the Reds, Chelsea and Bayern Munich.
In the end, Liverpool fought off the competition with the move for Jacquet bolstering Liverpool’s central defensive ranks in a season where they have struggled defensively after missing out on key defensive targets.
The Reds failed in a later summer deadline day move for Marc Guehi who later joined Manchester City before Sunday’s (1st February) move for Sunderland loanee Lutsharel Geertruida proved too complicated.
Currently the club possess only four contracted senior centre-backs at the club – captain Virgil Van Dijk, the out-of-contract Ibrahima Konate, Joe Gomez, and the long-term injured youngster Giovanni Leoni.
With Van Dijk now 34 (35 in the summer) and uncertainty over Konate’s contract with his deal expiring this summer, the Reds moved for the impressive youngsters to future proof their backline.
In Jacquet and last summer’s signing of the highly rated Leoni, 19, Liverpool have tied down two of the most highly rated young central defenders in the world.
(Featured image by Paté Kroute, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under Creative Commons)
