Liverpool repeats familiar transfer trick to pip Chelsea to Jeremy Jacquet deal

Liverpool has a history of striking advance agreements to sign players, and the Reds have done exactly that once again in order to sign Jeremy Jacquet amid interest from Chelsea

Jeremy Jacquet has agreed to join Liverpool(Image: 2026 Allstar)

Liverpool agreed to sign Rennes prospect Jeremy Jacquet in a somewhat surprising development that emerged on Sunday.

The Reds have committed a fee of up to £60 million ($82 million) to sign the Rennes center-back – but he will not make the move to Merseyside until the summer.

It follows similar previous deals that Liverpool has completed, whereby a player agrees to join the club but not until some time down the line.

Liverpool also struck advance agreements to sign Naby Keita, Joel Matip and Giorgi Mamardashvili in the past, and in this instance it has allowed the club to nip in ahead of Chelsea to land Jacquet.

In August 2017, Liverpool struck a deal with RB Leipzig for Keita to join the club in July 2018, while in February 2016, the Reds reached an agreement for Matip join the club in July of that year.

The most recent example saw Liverpool agree to sign goalkeeper Mamardashvili from Valencia in the summer of 2024, but with the move not taking place until the summer of 2025.

Jacquet is set to arrive on Merseyside on Monday to complete his medical ahead of his summer transfer to the Reds.

A fee of £55 million ($75 million), plus an additional £5 million ($7 million), has been agreed with Rennes for the center-back’s transfer, with the deal deferred until the start of the 2026/27 campaign.

Jacquet has agreed a contract that will run until 2031, and his arrival is in keeping with Liverpool’s transfer policy of targeting young defenders, who can be mainstays in the team for years to come.

That was seen with the summer acquisition of Giovanni Leoni, while Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez are nearing a combined 24 years of service.

It comes after Liverpool opted against pursuing a January deal for Marc Guehi, with the England international joining Manchester City for an initial fee of £20 million ($27 million), rising to £30 million ($41 million), while his wage demands would have made him among Liverpool’s highest earners.

Although the Reds are clear admirers of the 25-year-old, who nearly joined last summer, it was deemed that the move was not good value for money.

That is not the case for Jacquet, whose signing is expected to be announced on deadline day.