Deadline day and the 2026 January transfer window overall was pretty quiet for Chelsea.
In the end, Chelsea failed to make any new signings despite pursuing Rennes’ Jeremy Jacquet.
While they were keen on him, Jacquet has decided to join Liverpool instead and will complete a transfer to the Merseyside club in the summer.
We had the whole of January to sign Jeremy Jacquet and come up short 😡
Who is to blame for this?!
Fabrizio Romano update on Jeremy Jacquet
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However, former Premier League striker Jay Bothroyd does not think it was as straightforward as that.
Mamadou Sarr looks on ahead of FIFA Club World Cup Final Paris Saint-Germain vs Chelsea FC
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Jay Bothroyd puts Chelsea’s Jeremy Jacquet failure down to Mamadou Sarr
According to the reliable Fabrizio Romano, one reason why Jacquet chose Liverpool over Chelsea is because the Blues already have the likes of Josh Acheampong and Mamadou Sarr.
For Bothroyd, the fact that Chelsea do have Sarr also probably resulted in them not pushing as hard as Liverpool for Jacquet, hence their failure to capture the central defender.
Speaking on Sky Sports (02/02/2026 at 13:08), Bothroyd said: “I think the reason why this club didn’t happen is because they probably look at Mamadou Sarr and say, well, he might be as good as Jacquet.
“You know, and then it’s like, if we can get him and this is an easier transfer and we can spend less, let’s try and get him. Let’s see how it does. You know, because ultimately, [Liam] Rosenior has worked with them before. He knows them. He knows what he’s capable of. So why not go and try to get that player and see how it goes?”
While Chelsea have missed out on Jacquet, they could still end up signing another centre-back in the summer.
It is being reported that Chelsea may enter the market for a centre-half again at the end of the season, with Bayern Munich’s Dayot Upamecano currently being linked to them.
DISCUSS: Dayot Upamecano to Chelsea
A more experienced option than Jeremy Jacquet ✅
Dayot Upamecano transfer rumour graphic
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Jeremy Jacquet celebrating goal for France U-19s
Photo by Ramsey Cardy – Sportsfile/UEFA via Getty Images
Mamadou Sarr’s performance against PSG
Sarr has a lot of talent, but Chelsea fans need to be aware that he is far from being the finished article. That was evident to see from his performance against Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday.
One outlet gave Sarr a 4/10 after the Senegal international made a costly mistake that PSG were able to pounce on.
With Rosenior still having players such as Acheampong, Trevoh Chalobah and Wesley Fofana, defenders with Premier League experience, it may be a while until Sarr actually breaks into the Chelsea first team.
Jacquet has just as little experience as Sarr, so putting their faith in the latter and not forking out £60m on the former was perhaps a wise decision. Only time will tell, though.
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