Liverpool did end up making a marquee move on deadline day for the winter transfer window, as they paid up to £60 million to Rennes for 20-year old defender, Jeremy Jacquet.
The young Frenchman will not join the Reds immediately, as he will finish out the Ligue 1 season with his current club before moving to England over the summer on a long-term contract.
He rejected overtures from Chelsea earlier this window, as the France U21 international valued a faster path to the first team, which he would get at defensively depleted Liverpool.
Following the failure to sign Marc Guehi, the center of defense has been the domain of Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate. After that it has been a mixing and matching game for Arne Slot, and Jacquet could help alleviate that come the summer.
So, let's learn a little about Liverpool's newest signing before he arrives in the summer.
One of the hottest young names in French football
Jacquet is a product of the Stade Rennais academy where he burst onto the major footballing map in 2023, which was followed by a loan spell at Clermont Foot last season.
He has been a regular throughout the French youth setup as he has steadily worked his way up the ladder to now, being one of the most important players on the France U21 squad.
He comes from the same French town, Bondy; as Kylian Mbappe, William Saliba and Randal Kolo Muani. Hopefully he can become even a portion of those players max peaks.
Jacquet has made 18 league appearances for Rennes so far this season, and has an average match rating of 7.01 per Sofascore, which is a rock solid number for a young central defender that is learning on the job.
He is seen as a future face of the France defense and making a move to a club like Liverpool is eerily similar to the same move Konate made when he left RB Leipzig at the age of 22.
Physical gifts blend with the technical side
Jacquet already stands at 6'3, which means he might even gain an extra inch or two over the next few years. That could be a menacing thought for future opponents.
He's strong in the air already and will only improve once he gets around the best of the best in the form of someone like van Dijk, who will surely take the youngster under his wing. If Konate signs a new contract as well, he should have a strong connection with his countryman as well.
Jacquet reads the game well for a player with so little top flight experience, which allows him to anticipate more and his efficient tackling numbers reflect this. He is in the 85th percentile rating in tackles against dribblers.
He's also very comfortable on the ball, a huge plus in the Liverpool system, as he ranks in the 93rd percentile of all right-sided centre backs in Europe's top five leagues this season in dribbles per 90.
Per Opta, Jacquet is also completing 91% of his passes this season, with above average percentages in the final third as well.
This marks him as a well-rounded centre-half that is physical in the air and can win any duel, but also progressive enough to carry the ball forward or to start a counter with a well placed pass. He's also more athletic than Joe Gomez has ever been in his career, so that's a big plus in his favor as well.
Why the summer and not now?
As mentioned earlier, Liverpool will be paying £55 million upfront with another £5 million of bonuses to sign the young defender from Rennes. However, the French club are in the thick of a race for European football and they did not want to weaken themselves for the final few months.
It's a very valid logic, but from a Reds perspective, so frustrating as we have been seeing the likes of Ryan Gravenberch need to be plugged into the defense at times because of injuries.
It appears he will have a very high ceiling to his game when he does arrive over the summer, but one can't help but feel that if Liverpool pushed a little harder, he'd be here right now.
As it were, Slot will have to make due with what he has until our injury situation clears up. We can look forward to the arrival of Jacquet with eyes on the new season.