Liverpool has already moved to address biggest summer transfer problem

While there is some sense of frustration in the short-term at Liverpool's recruitment decisions, the club have made some calculated long-term decisions in January

Liverpool has agreed a $82M deal to sign Jeremy Jacquet

Transfer deadline day brought mixed emotions for Liverpool fans.

In many ways, this was a window that highlighted the club’s limitations and rigid approach to recruitment. Despite a growing list of defensive injuries — compounded in January by setbacks to Conor Bradley, Joe Gomez and Jeremie Frimpong — no new signings were sanctioned.

Liverpool opted not to make a move for the in-demand Marc Guehi, allowing Manchester City to swoop in, while the 11th-hour decision to explore a deal for Lutsharel Geertruida indicates that, despite Arne Slot’s positive public assertions, the club feels it is short of defensive options.

More frustrating still is the sense that earlier action could have secured a deal. Instead, the late market gambit left Sunderland insufficient time to find a Geertruida replacement.

After last summer’s spending, January served as a reminder that practicality and frugality still underpin Liverpool’s recruitment.

That said, the acquisition of Jeremy Jacquet has somewhat remedied any frustration.

The Reds flexed their financial muscles with their £60million ($82M) outlay on the 20-year-old, who will join next season, and had attracted interest from some of Europe’s elite clubs. Yet Liverpool acted decisively to secure what could be a shrewd long-term addition.

Liverpool has agreed a $82M deal for Jacquet (Image: (Ramsey Cardy - Sportsfile/UEFA via Getty Images))

For all the immediate worries in defense, with Jacquet, Giovanni Leoni, Milos Kerkez and Bradley, the Reds may have conceivably assembled a back four that could remain intact for the next decade.

And the move for Jacquet underscores that, for all of Liverpool’s careful planning, it is not afraid to spend significant funds on players who meet its criteria.

The transfer is also more in keeping with the club’s regular recruitment policy, which admittedly Guehi, at 25, did not match, and helps address what was slowly becoming an alarming situation at center-back.

Liverpool.com reported in November that next summer has long been seen as a crossroads moment for Liverpool’s center-back options. Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez could leave the club at the end of the season, and with Leoni still recovering from a long-term injury and Virgil van Dijk entering the final year of his contract, there has been a sense that defensive additions would be a necessity.

Liverpool still has long-term decisions to make on its center-back options(Image: Robin Jones/Getty Images)

In acquiring Jacquet, the Reds may have already eased at least some of the pressure ahead of the window.

That transfer alone could even resolve the issue. After all, there are no certainties that Konate and Gomez will depart, which would leave Slot with five first-team options.

Liverpool has also secured deals for Ifeanyi Ndukwe, Mor Talla Ndiaye and Noah Adekoya this month, and while the teenage center-backs have been brought in primarily to bolster the youth-team ranks, there is hope that at least one may, in time, prove to be a reliable first-team option.

If so, the club may have saved itself millions in the future.

That forward-thinking perspective may so often infuriate supporters, but it has undeniably paid dividends over the years. Liverpool will hope Jacquet is seen as another justification for that approach in the years to come.