Liverpool swooped in and secured a deadline day move for Jeremy Jacquet ahead of Chelsea with the defender believing he will get more opportunities to play at Anfield
Jeremy Jacquet opted for Liverpool ahead of Chelsea
Jeremy Jacquet opted for Liverpool ahead of Chelsea
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Jeremy Jacquet chose to move to Liverpool over Chelsea with the Rennes centre-half seeing a better route to first-team football at Anfield.
The young French defender is highly-rated and had been on the Blues' radar for the latter part of the January transfer window. Liverpool joined the race late in the day and secured a £60million deal with Jacquet himself seeing the Reds as the place he'll play more regularly.
Chelsea were offered exactly the same deal as Liverpool but the past 48 hours has been crucial in the Rennes defender choosing Anfield over Stamford Bridge ahead of a move in the summer.
Sky Sports reports that when Jacquet learned of Mamadou Sarr returning to Chelsea from his loan spell at Strasbourg, and that Josh Acheampong was staying, he thought Liverpool would be the better destination given Chelsea's squad is overloaded with young centre-backs.
The deal hasn't been officially confirmed at the time of writing, with Liverpool facing no pressure to complete the transfer before Monday's 7pm deadline.
The Blues also have Trevoh Chalobah, Wesley Fofana, Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Aaron Anselmino and Jorrel Hato in their first-team squad. Levi Colwill will also return from injury - leaving plenty of players missing out on selection.
Liverpool meanwhile have a shortage at centre-back and their options could be further reduced come the summer. They currently have Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Joe Gomez and Giovanni Leoni on their books but Konate's contract is winding down and will expire in the summer as things stand.
The Reds had missed out on Marc Guehi in the summer and then saw the Crystal Palace star head to rivals Manchester City, leaving them to look elsewhere. Liverpool hadn't expected to spend big this month, but seized on the opportunity.
Mamadou Sarr has been recalled from Strasbourg by Chelsea
Mamadou Sarr has been recalled from Strasbourg by Chelsea(Image: Sathire Kelpa/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
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Rennes were keen to keep Jacquet until the end of the season with the French club in the race to secure Champions League football and the deal is seen as working for all parties.
Their boss Habib Beye said: "We negotiated the transfer, obtained the amount the club looked for, we respected the player’s wish and we have him for the remainder of the season. The club he joins will offer him Champions League football."
The 20-year-old primarily operates as a right-sided centre-back, but has played at right-back on occasion. Jacquet was a standout performer as France reached the final of the U19 European Championship last year.
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