Liverpool returned to winning ways in the Premier League on Saturday evening, with a convincing 4-1 victory at home to Newcastle United.
Despite the victory, Arne Slot’s champions sit outside the European places in sixth place and 14 points behind leaders Arsenal, with their hopes of retaining their title effectively over.
After a busy summer transfer window, this has been something of a season of transition at Anfield, with a number of factors contributing to their faltering title defence, not least their performance at the back. The Reds have shipped 33 goals already this season, compared to 23 at this stage last year.
Liverpool prospect faces fresh battle
Liverpool’s back-line suffered an early blow this season when new signing Giovanni Leoni suffered a torn ACL on his debut against Southampton in a Carabao Cup clash back in September.
The 19-year-old completed a £26 million move to Merseyside from Parma in the summer, with his injury ruling him out for the rest of his debut campaign in English football, leaving Liverpool with just three recognised centre-backs in Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez.
Italy youth international Leoni has been undergoing his rehabilitation over the past five months, but will now face a fresh hurdle when he is fit enough to feature again for Slot’s side.
That’s because Liverpool have agreed a £60m deal for Rennes defender Jermey Jacquet on the final day of the January transfer window - although the move will not take place until the summer.
The Athletic’s David Ornstein reports that Jacquet will move to Anfield in the summer, subject to a medical, with personal terms not expected to be an issue, with Liverpool having seen off interest from Chelsea to land the highly-rated 20-year-old.
With Konate’s current contract due to expire at the end of the current season, the centre-back position has been a priority for the Reds, who missed out on England defender Marc Guehi on deadline day in the summer, with the 25-year-old going on to sign for Manchester City from Crystal Palace during the current window.
France under-21 international Jacquet is set to signed a five-and-a-half-year deal with Liverpool, that would tie him up until the summer of 2031, with the option of a further year.
In FourFourTwo’s view, this would appear to be a smart move by Liverpool, as the club continues to add another young, promising talent to their squad.
Jacquet may only be valued at €20m by Transfermarkt, but it is clear that he is one to watch, given his performances for Rennes this season, in which he has enjoyed a breakout campaign.
Arsenal have also been linked with Jacquet and given Van Dijk’s age and Konate’s contract situation, he will give Liverpool another option at the back, with the club no doubt hoping that he and a fully-recovered Leoni will be their future back-line.
