Liverpool branded ‘suckers’ after forking out £60m for Jeremy Jacquet – ‘Ridiculous’ | Football | Sport
Liverpool have been slated for their decision to splash a whopping £60million on Jeremy Jacquet’s signature. A deal to bring the defender to Anfield was announced late on deadline day, with Liverpool having battled off other Premier League suitors for the youngster.
Chelsea had been admirers of the 20-year-old and were in talks with Jaquet’s club, Stade Rennes, about striking a potential agreement this month. Instead, it was Liverpool who swooped in at the 11th hour and persuaded Jacquet to pick Anfield over a Stamford Bridge switch.
As part of the agreement, Jacquet will remain at Rennes for the remainder of the season, before eventually joining up with his prospective Liverpool team-mates in the summer. However, Liverpool have been told they’re ‘suckers’ for accepting Rennes’ demands and paying the club-record fee they were asking for.
Speaking to RMC Sport, former French forward Christophe Duggary said: “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 that, well done to Rennes. Rennes managed to find a sucker like Liverpool for 72 million euros.”
He went on to claim that Jacquet isn’t ready to make the step up yet and would benefit more from developing in France before making the jump. Duggary continued: “This isn’t just a two-tiered football situation anymore, it’s a football that’s lost its mind. Let’s stop trying to pretend there’s a justification for it. There’s no justification whatsoever.
“And even for poor little Jacquet, this transfer is going to put a lot of pressure on him. Even him, the poor kid, who is certainly a very good player, is going to arrive with a pall of pressure. His performances will be viewed differently, even though he doesn’t deserve it.
“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.”
Rennes boss Habib Beye claimed that the Ligue 1 outfit had little chance to accept an offer for Jacquet. He said: “This deal is not done, I don’t want to comment on something that is not real, it’s a supposition.
“He will not be here for training today, we don’t know if he can play tomorrow but we’ll see depending on the situation. The fact of negotiating his transfer now and obtaining the sum that the club wants, (respecting) the player’s wish and still having him (for the end of the season), is perhaps the best deal we can have.”
