The January transfer window is officially over for this year, but some deals are still being finalised by different clubs. I have been critical of Liverpool's defence since the early part of the football season and mentioned why it was important for the board to go into the January transfer window to sign a new defender, as Liverpool's current defenders have not performed well this season. When Marc Guehi's deal with Manchester City was official, I criticised how the board failed to convince the Englishman to join the Reds and show the long-term Liverpool project under Arne Slot.
Two days ago Liverpool and Chelsea were both pushing for Jeremy Jacquent, a young defender from Rennes. It was the first time I was hearing about Jeremy, but as long as the club was pushing for another defender, it was okay, as the main goal is to get another player for that role. Chelsea, in the end, pulled out of the race, and it's obvious Jeremy Jacquent didn't accept their project because I am sure they likely told him that he would leave on loan to another club for development. This is Chelsea's basic project approach: buy young players to ship out on loan, and at the end, these players don't get minutes with the first team.
Liverpool finalised the deal with Rennes as the initial fee is 60 million euros with 10 million euros in add-ons. It is quite an expensive signing for a 20-year-old, but yet again, as long as there is a new defender on the team, the price doesn't matter. The only problem I have is that Jeremy Jacquet won't be coming into the team this January as the deal will officially take effect during the next summer window this year, so Jeremy will remain with Rennes to the end of the season. This will be the first signing for Liverpool in the 2026 summer as more are expected to happen over the summer window.
Since Jeremy Jacquet won't be joining Liverpool this January it just means the partnership between Ibrahim Konate and Virgil Van Dijk will still continue to the end of the season. There is no confidence I have in that pairing till the end of the season because they have been horrible and that is the truth. The reality that Liverpool could go trophyless this season is bound to happen and I am not sugarcoating this team because they have not been all that this season. It is good news in the end that there will be a new defender by next season and hopefully Giovanni will return from his ACL injury to join the squad.
Giovanni and Jeremy in the defence will be ones to watch for the long run in Liverpool, and no offence to Virgil Van Dijk, he has to get back to form or find the bench next season. Ibrahim Konate will be another discussion for another day, which is linked to the one he had with Real Madrid earlier this season. So, guys, that will be all for now. Thanks for stopping by and have a good day.