Liverpool beat Chelsea to agree £60m deal to sign Jeremy Jacquet from Rennes

Premier League champions Liverpool have agreed a £60million package for Rennes defender Jeremy Jacquet.

The deal is £55m with a further £5m in add-ons for the 20-year-old.

Chelsea have been pushing to sign the France U21 international and were considered favourites, but Liverpool have won the race to sign him.

Jacquet will move to Anfield in the summer, but will be loaned back to Rennes for the remainder of the current season.

The deal comes after Arne Slot’s side failed to get a deal for former Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi over the line during the summer, with the England international joining Manchester City this month.

The club also explored a loan move for Lutsharel Geertruida for the rest of the season, but deemed the deal too complicated.

According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, the France u21 international will fly to the north west on Monday morning and sign a deal until 2030 with the option of a one year extension with personal terms agreed.

20-year-old Jacquet has played 18 times in Ligue 1 this season, and is viewed as a long term option alongside summer recruits Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, and Milos Kerkez.