Liverpool have completed the signing of Rennes’ defensive starley Jeremy Jacquet but have now been called ‘suckers’ for agreeing to pay the £60m transfer fee.
Having just won the Premier League, Liverpool’s summer signings were expected to supercharge an already talented team.
Very few predicted what a loss Luis Diaz would be, with the Colombian involved in 15 goals and 12 assists for Bayern Munich, overshadowing the seven goals and four assists Cody Gakpo has managed in his stead.
Yet, there can be no denying the logic behind signing Isak, Wirtz, Ekitike, Frimpong, Mamardashvili and Kerkez.
Liverpool are looking ahead to the summer and despite fan frustration over signing Jacquet later than sooner, it’s a promising move from the Reds.
World Cup winner labels Liverpool ‘suckers’ for agreeing to sign Jacquet
Speaking to RMC Sport,1998 World Cup winner with France, Christophe Dugarry, has called Liverpool ‘suckers’ for agreeing to pay £60m (€72m) to sign Jacquet.
No U21 player in Europe has won more aerial duels than Jacquet, although soon-to-be Liverpool teammate Giovanni Leoni is a close second which suggests something about the club’s aims in signing the pair.
Duggary, however, disagrees.
He said: “This isn’t meant to offend the player; honestly, he’s not to blame at all, and we wish him all the best because he’s a good player.
“When you have suckers like that… Well done to Rennes. Rennes managed to find a sucker like Liverpool for 72 million euros.”
Overpaying or not, Liverpool appear to have plenty of cash to burn despite £460m summer splurge
Liverpool spent £460million to sign the likes of Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike, but their move to sign Jacquet means their summer transfer bill starts at £60m before any other signings.
However, it would appear it’s not an issue.
Football finance expert Adam Williams has told Rousing the Kop that, despite their summer spending, Liverpool have a lot of wiggle room in their budget.
Jacquet is seen as the future at centre-back, along with Giovanni Leoni, and so was a necessary signing in their eyes.
Williams said: “In terms of PSR, Liverpool have got a lot of headroom once you add back allowable investment in infrastructure, the women’s team, community, the academy and so on.
“They have never been in any danger there, so the timing of the Jacquet deal isn’t significant there. They are a little tighter on UEFA’s Squad Cost Ratio rules, yes, but looking at the figures from the Deloitte Football Money League, I don’t anticipate any real problems there either.
“So from a cash point of view they are fine, just as they are from a PSR perspective. Even if they miss out on the Champions League next season, their core revenue plus their relative frugality 2024-25 means that they will be able to go big again in the summer, if FSG sanction the investment.”