03 Feb 2026 22:16:14
I'm glad that LFC have signed a CB, but I'm completely miffed by two aspects of the deal. When you pay 60m, surely you want the player to join your squad immediately, what's the point of waiting until the summer. And if the thinking is, leave the kid at Rennes to get first team experience, why pay 60m for a kid who has played 30 odd games? It's one hell of a gamble on an unproven player you are going to entrust to another team for 6 months.
I know LFC have a renowned analytics dept, but the data used in deciding to pay so much for him must have been very limited.
Personally, I had hoped for a quality defender who would join the team this week, the kid could turn out to be a world beater, but it has the look of "I wanted a lamp, they bought me a sofa" or whatever it was Rafa said.
03 Feb 2026 23:35:54
Did you consider rennes may have insisted he see the season out as crucial to the deal?
04 Feb 2026 00:45:49
It's £55m rising to £60m. The kid is seen as the best defensive prospect in Europe. He's captained all levels of France. Huijsen was brought by Bournemouth then went for £50m to Madrid the following season. We've spent £85m on two of Europes most talented CBS.
04 Feb 2026 01:51:58
100% agree.
Hope history does not repeat. (naby)
04 Feb 2026 03:46:22
It's good that you managed to turn an exciting signing into a negative.
04 Feb 2026 05:00:59
Funny thing is that sooooooo many posters on here have so much to say because we paid double that for Isak, a proven PL striker, yet they say nothing about a kiddy from a "farmers" league who we worked out 60MILLION for. and we only get him in 6 months time.
04 Feb 2026 06:37:18
@JLC, if you look closely on here there are multiple threads about jut the thing - the price the lad cost, even though, like usu and me, the club didn't ask us to pay the money ourselves.
04 Feb 2026 07:24:18
Chelsea had made a move and we didn't want to lose him to a rival. Huijsen and Yoro went for similar fee's, Jacquet is by all accounts seen as a top talent.
04 Feb 2026 07:10:34
@Burkeyboy, I did, then I wondered why pay so much for a player we need now, then leave him at another club for 6 months?
@Keegans Perm, that is a hell of a lot of money for a prospect, no matter how good he has been in his 36 senior games, and he isn't going to help us get top 4 this season, is he?
@WDWIV, an exciting signing we have to wait until next season to see play a league game. Are we that well stacked with top performing CBs at present that we leave a 55m player at another club?
{Ed078's Note - if the option was leave him there for the season or no deal at all, or they sell to another team willing to meet their demands, you would have walked away? Or maybe offered more money?
04 Feb 2026 07:18:26
Chelsea interest I would guess forced our hand so we had to move now. Also if he is as good as they say he can potentially be why leave it when u do have the opportunity to sign him. Who to say real madrid/ psg wouldn't come in for him in the summer. We have seen with guehi a lot can change in a few months.
04 Feb 2026 07:28:27
In the last six months, Liverpool have signed five centre-backs aged 20 or under.
Leoni, 19, Noah Adekoya, 19, Senegalese 18-year-old Mor Talla Ndiaye and Austria youth international Ifeanyi Ndukwe, 17,
They are young, but not really kids. Maybe one of these is looked at as a stop gap if VVD or Konate get injured?
04 Feb 2026 07:40:16
Haven't Grav and Endo been the stop gaps so far?
Looking at it, it seems a decent deal at this point for us. A very promising centre back, that can't play now and will join in 6 months at a cost of 55 mill.
It's looking like a very good deal for Rennes though. A very promising centre back that will play for them for the next 4 months and they receive 55 mill for those troubles.
04 Feb 2026 07:45:40
Honestly watching clips he does look like a very good player, comfortable on the ball, fast for such a big lad, incredible in the air, can carry the ball into midfield, can play passes long and short, he does go to ground a bit too prematurely but that is a tendency with young center halves and they can improve very quickly. He has the very highest aerial duel win rate in Ligue 1 this season and 3rd overall in ground duels.
I think it kind of makes a little bit of sense now that we pulled back from the Guehi deal with the expenses involved and used that money to get Jacquet instead, probably going to get Schlotterbeck in the summer as a more senior player to step in now when required. With the three young center halves that have gone into the U-21 team we look like we're future proofing the position for the future, Leoni and Jacquet are the two best young center half options on the market currently.
Of course Jacquet is a much bigger risk than Guehi but he could reach a much much higher level over time, also he fits the profile of defender that we usually go for- good on the ball, super athletic, dominant in the air. Players with his size and overall attributes are hard to come by.
04 Feb 2026 08:15:54
According to OptaJoe, Jacquet is fifth-best in Europe for winning aerial duels at 75.5%, with VVD in fourth with 77.3%.
So as the PL. moves more and more to Stoke football and with how we've defended set pieces this season then this looks like a good acquisition, a very competent header of the ball.
04 Feb 2026 08:36:32
Getting jacket signed even though we don't get till the summer imo
Is still a good deal as other posts have said if we didn't move now we probably would have missed out, then people would be p#ssed off we didn't get the deal done?
04 Feb 2026 09:36:05
@D-Day, it really is very, very simple - he wasn't available in this transfer window. So, logically speaking we couldn't sign him to play for us now.
So, our option was to do a deal for an outstanding prospect for next season now, or wait until the bidding war started after the World Cup.
I don't think there were any CBs available that were value for money and good enough to improve us - name one or two you think might have been available. Geertruida isn't the answer, he can't get into the Sunderland team and, even as a loan, he wouldn't have improved us even if trying to sort out what the player, Leipzig and Sunderland all wanted.
04 Feb 2026 10:21:49
McGoveb
Who are the top 3? Just out of curiosity mate ?.
04 Feb 2026 10:26:04
It's times like this I actually feel for Hughes. He really can't win.
Option 1:
Signs one of the hottest prospects out there to replace Konate at CB next season - he gets abused because we have to wait until the summer for him to join.
Option 2:
Hughes has the opportunity to sign one of the hottest CB prospects out there to replace Konate next season. Thinking short-term he steps away from the deal because he would prefer somebody now. Chelsea sign him to join them in the summer and fans are up in arms because he messed up an opportunity to sign one of the hottest CB prospect out there and we are desperate for CBs.
04 Feb 2026 10:07:41
What happened to Ait Boudlal? Ed001?
{Ed001's Note - nothing happened, he stayed at Rennes.}
04 Feb 2026 10:42:31
From what I gather, the kid has been captaining teams at many levels and even in the short quote speaks about the respect for his current club and achieving something special with them this year.
Keita stayed with Leipzig for a whole season. In this case it is just 4 months. I'd like to think we have done due diligence on the kid's character and he will not start showering his team mates and staff with bank notes.
I have no problem with Jacquet being a summer deal. I have a problem with us not being proactive in solving the immediate issues. The complex Geertruida attempt in the final 48 hours of the window smacks of a lack of planning and decisiveness.
If one or more of Virg, Dom or Konate, who have pretty much played every game, get injured, strap TF in.
04 Feb 2026 11:41:48
IMO, It's as if people refuse to understand how certain deals work even after some of the critical terms have been revealed/ explained. The Jacquet deal has been explained to oblivion on this forum about how Rennes wouldn't do a deal for this Jan. cos they need him to see out the season. That was their condition and nothing else would work. And that was for ALL his suitors.
Now if people think we overpaid then, that is just an opinion, not a fact cos you are only worth what someone is willing to pay for your services. Furthermore, with top CB's being at a premium, you're going to have to pay the going rate esp. if the club really think Jacquet will do well and think his upside and ceiling is way up there then, they have to do a YLFP and pay the money. Now, we have two of the best CB prospects ready to go for next season. What's not to like?
Like @Shipley said, would people complaining about the money now, prefer we walked away and then Chelsea get him? If the answer is no then please, move on.
As the late ex rodeo clown used to say, "The money is irrelevant". And in this market for top CB's, it most definitely is. Pay the going rate or move on.
{Ed025's Note - good post that Oli..
04 Feb 2026 11:53:35
One of the few excellent posts agreed Ed025.
04 Feb 2026 12:00:41
Going back to your stats McGoveb, apparently he's also the best for his age group at winning aerial challenges, the second best was Leoni. So we'll at least be able to deal with anti-football sides long term.
04 Feb 2026 16:07:28
It makes sense to buy him now. We might not be in the champions League next season. Competition for him might have been harder to get it done. As for age Phil Thompson played his first game at 17 and was regular by the age 19. Alan Hansen was a regular at 22. If they're good enough they are old enough.
04 Feb 2026 16:08:58
@Irish Rover,
No.1 Kike Salas from Seville - 81.3%
No.2 Luka Vuskovic from Hamburger SV
No.3 Lukas Torro from Osasuna
No.4 VVD
No 5 Jacquet.
04 Feb 2026 19:46:24
Well said oli???.