Liverpool have agreed a £60m deal to sign Jeremy Jacquet from Rennes in the summer despite being in dire need of a centre-back signing now, with Jamie Carragher weighing in on the discussion.
Jacquet will join Liverpool on a £60m deal, but there has been a lot of fan frustration vented online at the lack of defensive reinforcement for this season.
The Reds are sixth in the Premier League, and although they are into the knockout phase of the Champions League the 4th Round of the FA Cup, there is no guarantee this squad will be able to challenge on three fronts.
Manchester City signed Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi – two Liverpool targets – while James McConnell has been recalled from his Ajax loan spell to cover at right back for the injured Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong.
Signing Jacquet this month would have been really helpful as Joe Gomez is also out injured, meaning Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate are the last men standing in central defence.
Jamie Carragher acknowledges frustration but raises key point about securing £60m agreement with Rennes for Jacquet
Speaking live on Sky Sports’ coverage of Deadline Day, Jamie Carragher has discussed Liverpool’s deal to sign Jacquet, suggesting that signing him in the summer might have been the only way to get the deal over the line
He said: “Yeah, pleased, that they’ve made a signing in that area. Liverpool need reinforcement in that area right now, but they definitely need that in the summer.
“It looks like Konate maybe going to move on, still hasn’t signed a contract yet, so I think they’re getting their young centre-backs for the future. Unfortunately, Leoni, who they signed last summer, has had an ACL injury.”
When asked about frustrating at the deal not being for now, but rather for the summer, Carrgagher replied: “Yes, but when the deal’s been done with Rennes, that maybe is part of the deal and the reason why Liverpool have got the deal over the line, is the fact that they can say to Rennes, you can keep the player until the end of the season. It’s not going to disrupt the season in France between now and the end of the season.
“So, yeah, I can understand it, but it’s their player. You have to sort of play by their rules. Liverpool paid top money for a player of that age, and the future holds as well at centre-back, but they have pressing problems right now that they need to fix.”