Chelsea Football Newsletter
Liverpool have agreed a £60million deal to sign Rennes centre-back Jeremy Jacquet, who has been in talks with Chelsea.
Standard Sport understands that Liverpool will pay a guaranteed £55m, with a further £5m in add-ons. Jacquet will remain at Rennes for the remainder of the current Ligue 1 season, before moving to Anfield in the summer.
Chelsea are long-time admirers of Jacquet, who is considered one the most promising youngsters in Europe.
Talks between Rennes and the Blues began earlier in January, but a fee was never agreed as Rennes pushed for a club-record sale which would eclipse the €60m Manchester City paid for Jeremy Doku in 2023.
Chelsea were unwilling to match that asking price, but Liverpool have obliged after launching a late bid for the 20-year-old.
Personal terms will now be discussed, which are expected to be a formality.
Jacquet would likely replace Ibrahima Konate at Liverpool, with the centre-back's future at the club still uncertain as he enters the final months of his contract with little expectation of an extension being signed.
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Liverpool have been looking for a new centre-back. They missed out on Marc Guehi, who joined Manchester City in a cut-price deal earlier this month, and briefly explored a loan move for Lutsharel Geertruida after talks with Sunderland.
Chelsea have already moved on from Jacquet, with Mamadou Sarr flying into London to finalise a return on Deadline Day after his Strasbourg loan was cut short.
Aaron Anselmino, who recently saw his loan move with Borussia Dortmund end early, will replace Sarr at the Ligue 1 side.