‘Ridiculous’—World Cup Winner Launches Remarkable Liverpool Tirade After Jeremy Jacquet Deal

Liverpool were under pressure to add defenders to their squad this January.

Jérémy Jacquet will team up with Liverpool this summer. | Franco Arland/Getty Images

Former France World Cup winner Christophe Duggary has labelled Liverpool “suckers” for spending so much money on the signing of 20-year-old Rennes defender Jérémy Jacquet.

The Reds announced the £60 million ($82.1 million) deal for the centre back on Deadline Day, although Jacquet will not join up with Liverpool until the summer, instead continuing with Rennes until the end of the current campaign.

Reflecting on the transfer, ex-Barcelona and Milan forward Dugarry launched an incredible attack on Liverpool for splashing such a colossal amount on a player with such little senior experience.

“This isn’t meant to offend the player; honestly, he’s not to blame at all, and we wish him all the best because he’s a good player. When you have suckers like [Liverpool], well done to Rennes,” Duggary told RMC Sport. “Rennes managed to find a sucker like Liverpool for €72 million.”

He added: “Those of us who know football, let’s not try to justify this amount by saying it’s because Liverpool has money or whatever. It’s meaningless.

“I don’t know what’s going on, it’s ridiculous. No, it’s not supply and demand. It’s ridiculous, it’s ridiculous.”

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How Liverpool Beat Chelsea to Jeremy Jacquet Signing

Chelsea were the leading candidates to sign Jacquet early in the January window as they targeted reinforcements at the back, with the France Under-21 international initially believed to prefer a move to Stamford Bridge over Anfield.

However, the defender swiftly changed his mind. Understandable fears arose over his place in an already bloated Chelsea squad, which boasts the likes of Levi Colwill, Trevoh Chalobah, Wesley Fofana and Benoît Badiashile among other centre backs.

Liverpool provided a much clearer pathway to regular first-team football for the precocious youngster. Virgil van Dijk is 35 years old this summer and will be entering the final year of his contract, Ibrahima Konaté could leave with his deal expiring at the end of the campaign and the injury-prone Joe Gomez may well be sold.

It’s unsurprising that Jacquet viewed Liverpool as a more promising move for his career considering their lack of depth at the back.

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Defensive Issues Remain for Arne Slot

Arne Slot is still short on options at the back. | Catherine Ivill-AMA/Getty Images

Jacquet will team up with the Reds this summer but that still leaves Liverpool short for the remainder of the campaign. Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni are out for the season, Jeremie Frimpong and Gomez are currently injured and Van Dijk and Konaté have failed to convince on a regular basis this term.

Liverpool supporters were eager to see defensive reinforcements in the winter market but once the Reds opted out of a deal for Marc Guéhi, who joined Manchester City for an initial £20 million, it became clear they were willing to take an almighty gamble with their backline.

Moves for Lutsharel Geertruida and Denzel Dumfries were briefly explored near the end of the window but they came too late to be ironed out, meaning the Reds are still walking a tightrope for the second half of the season. It could spell disaster.

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