Liverpool have agreed a £60million deal for the Rennes centre back Jeremy Jacquet – but that didn’t stop Manchester United from making a late move
Jeremy Jacquet is closing in on a move to Liverpool(Image: (Ramsey Cardy – Sportsfile/UEFA via Getty Images))
Manchester United made a last-ditch attempt to hijack Jeremy Jacquet’s transfer to Liverpool. News emerged late on Sunday night that the Reds had agreed a deal with Rennes to sign the centre-back this summer.
The reigning Premier League champions have negotiated a pre-agreement worth an initial £55million plus £5m in add-ons for the 20-year-old, having held talks with the French side over the weekend. But according to journalist Florian Plettenberg, United tried to hijack the transfer on Sunday evening but were unsuccessful, as the defender already had an agreement in place with Liverpool.
Chelsea had approached Stade Rennais earlier in January about a deal for Jacquet, but the French club were reluctant to sanction a departure midway through the campaign. That meant that Jacquet had a choice between Chelsea and Liverpool for whom he wanted to join in the summer, and he opted for the latter because he believes there is a better chance of regular first-team football at Anfield.
Jacquet’s move to Liverpool comes amid uncertainty around the future of Ibrahima Konate. The Frenchman is out of contract in the summer and is being linked with a move to Real Madrid.
United, meanwhile, are set for a quiet end to the January transfer window, with their deadline day activity set to focus on securing exits for some of their academy graduates. Providing an update on Friday, Michael Carrick said: “To be honest, I think we’re just working through it. Never say never, of course, because a lot can happen and situations can be thrown up.
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“Sometimes it’s in our control, sometimes it’s maybe something that’s out of our control that we’ve got to deal with. I’m pretty calm. I think we’ve shown what we’re capable of doing as a team and we’ll just have to see what the next few days bring, but I’m definitely calm about it.”
On the pitch, Benjamin Sesko’s stoppage-time winner saw United’s revival under Carrick continue in dramatic fashion as they moved back into the Premier League’s top four with a 3-2 win over Fulham on Sunday. Goals from Casemiro and Matheus Cunha had put United 2-0 up before Raul Jimenez and Kevin restored parity.
But just moments later, United were celebrating again as substitute Sesko rifled the ball beyond Bernd Leno. Speaking after the game, Carrick said: “There’s a lot that went on today in the game. I was well aware of what a good team Fulham are going into the game.
“I was getting questions thrown at me about teams sitting back here, but I knew it was never going to be like that today.
Michael Carrick and Benjamin Sesko after Man United’s win over Fulham(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt/Getty Images)
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“They are a good team, I knew we were going to have to answer a lot of questions and we did that for a lot of it. The boys put in a big effort and they were really desperate to win the game.
“For Ben [Sesko] to come on and have a moment like that is huge. It was nice for him to get his moment in front of the Stretford End. There’s not a better place to score a winner like that.
“It’s a big moment for everyone. You could tell that in the way everyone celebrated – from the staff to the supporters. It was one of those special ones.”
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