Journalist Lewis Steele has penned a column diving into Liverpool FC’s transfer activity, and there’s all sorts of interesting tidbits. In particular, Rennes’ 20-year-old centre-back Jérémy Jacquet, currently
the subject of a bid from Chelsea, has been revealed to be on both Liverpool and Bayern Munich’s shortlists.
On Liverpool’s centre-back plans, Steele wrote:
“There will have been lots of progress, just all in the background and this is always the case for top clubs. Centre back target lists will be being drawn up as this position is seen as a priority.”
News had broken over the past week that Chelsea were pursuing the player and it seemed like both parties had quickly agreed personal terms, but according to Fabrizio Romano, the deal now looks difficult due to Chelsea only wanting to spend around £35m-£40m + add ons but Rennes are insisting on a club record sale price surpassing that of Jeremy Doku’s €60m fee. Rennes are reportedly demanding that fee not only from Chelsea, so should the move fail, suitors in the summer should be prepared for that figure.
Elsewhere Steele also notes that:
- Spurs’ Micky van de Ven shares an agent in Jose Fortes Rodriguez with Ryan Gravenberch, amid rumours that he wants out and is keen on a move to Liverpool
- There is a “widespread belief” that Adam Wharton could be the next major Crystal Palace to leave, with Liverpool keen according to sources. £80m is the reported figure for a deal to get done.
I’m a hard pass on Van de Ven. He’s obviously a good player but those hamstrings are made of paper. Also, a 41% aerial win rate is… um, yeah.
Jacquet seems to tick more of the boxes of a centre-back Liverpool would usually look for, even more so than someone like Marc Guehi. Six foot two, good in the air and with his feet, able to cover space, he would fit the bill for a Liverpool backline that needs to get younger in preparation for captain Virgil van Dijk’s eventual departure or retirement, with the obvious caveat that it’s £60m for a rather raw package and limited sample size at the moment and a rather big if he’s still at Rennes in the summer.
There were rumours of Liverpool making contact with Wharton’s representatives in November, but this seems like a move that would only happen if one of Liverpool’s midfielders go. There have been rumblings of Liverpool renewing their three core midfielders in Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister, but reportedly the last of them is of the least priority. Not that big a surprise considering his form, and that he has been of interest to Real Madrid over the past year or so.
