Liverpool Seal Jacquet Deal as Man Utd's Last-Ditch Hijack Bid Falls Flat

Liverpool have wrapped up their pursuit of Rennes centre-back Jeremy Jacquet, with the Anfield outfit agreeing a €70m (£61m) package for the promising 20-year-old France Under-21 international. The deal will see Jacquet remain with the Ligue 1 outfit for the remainder of the season before making the switch to Merseyside in the summer.

The move represents a significant recruitment coup for the Reds, who have been keen to bolster their defensive ranks following a frustrating summer window. Liverpool's attempts to land Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi came to nothing when the England defender completed his medical at Anfield only for Palace to pull the plug on the transfer – Guehi subsequently joined Manchester City in January instead.

Summer arrival Giovanni Leoni's season-ending injury compounded matters, leaving manager Arne Slot with Joe Gomez as the primary backup to Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate, with the former capable of covering at right-back when required.

According to Sky Germany's Florian Plettenberg, the Jacquet deal represents what he termed an "XXL offer" that has been accepted by Rennes. Plettenberg also dismissed speculation linking the defender with Chelsea, confirming there was "never an agreement" between the Blues and the youngster.

However, Liverpool's coup nearly went pear-shaped when Manchester United launched a surprise late attempt to hijack the transfer. Under INEOS's stewardship, the Red Devils have been actively scouting young talent across Europe, and they moved to disrupt the Reds' plans in the closing hours before the deadline. Their intervention proved unsuccessful, though, with Jacquet already locked in with Liverpool.

"Excl | Manchester United tried to hijack Jeremy Jacquet's summer transfer to Liverpool in the last hours, but were unsuccessful. Jacquet already had an agreement in place with Liverpool," Plettenberg confirmed on social media.

Arne Slot had adopted a measured approach to the winter window, telling reporters over the weekend: "I think we are trying to strengthen the squad and not trying to weaken it. But yeah, 48 hours to go. Let's see where the window ends up."

Elsewhere, Liverpool's pursuit of RB Leipzig's Lutsharel Geertruida appears to have stalled. The versatile defender, capable of operating anywhere across the backline, had been mooted as an alternative option, but transfer expert Fabrizio Romano reported that Sunderland – the player's current club on loan – had cooled their interest after negotiations failed to progress. "Lutsharel Geertruida-Liverpool deal considered OFF by Sunderland after talks not advancing today," Romano wrote, adding that the two clubs had held discussions over the previous 24 hours without reaching any agreement.