REAL REASONS Jeremy Jacquet chose Liverpool over Chelsea revealed by Fabrizio Romano | OneFootball

Jeremy Jacquet will complete a record-breaking transfer to Liverpool later today and why he snubbed Chelsea in favour of joining the Reds has come to light.

Jacquet, 20, was pursued by all three of Liverpool, Chelsea and Bayern Munich in the winter window. Rennes opened the doors to a sale but on two conditions – they receive a club record fee and Jacquet remain with the French outfit until the summer.

Bayern ultimately stepped aside after their talks centred on agreeing a deal for the summer. Liverpool and Chelsea, meanwhile, were fully prepared to forge an agreement now even though the centre-back wouldn’t arrive for another six months.

And over the past 72 hours, Liverpool made an aggressive push for Jacquet that on Sunday, paid dividends.

The Reds agreed to pay Rennes £55m plus £5m in adds-ons, which will make Jacquet the French side’s most expensive ever sale, surpassing the £55m package received from Manchester City when selling Jeremy Doku in 2023.

Personal terms with Jacquet were quickly agreed and the player is travelling to the north west of England today to undergo a medical and finalise the move. As stated, Jacquet will then return to France to see out the season with Rennes.

Now, transfer guru, Fabrizio Romano, has shed light on why Jacquet made the decision he did.

If recent history showed one thing, it’s Chelsea can and often do get the better of Liverpool when going head-to-head in the market (Romeo Lavia, Moises Caicedo), but not in this case.

“Liverpool presented long term project to Jeremy Jacquet as key part of the squad immediately from June, player very convinced and happy,” wrote Romano on X.

“Chelsea decision to keep Acheampong for long term, reject bids for him and considering to recall Mamadou Sarr impacted Jacquet decision.

“Chelsea having 3/4 young CBs with Sarr, Acheampong, [Aaron] Anselmino and co impacted final choice.”

In other words, Liverpool made it crystal clear to Jacquet he’ll be front and centre in the club’s plans from day one.

And with Ibrahima Konate still to sign a new contract at Anfield, Jacquet may well be in line to become Virgil van Dijk’s new partner next term.

Furthermore, Ben Jacobs and our own reporting via Graeme Bailey has confirmed Chelsea weren’t quite willing to match Rennes’ asking price.

That helped Liverpool beat Chelsea when all was said and done, but ultimately, Chelsea being reluctant to go that extra mile from a transfer fee perspective would have had no bearing on Jacquet’s choice.

Regarding contract length, Jacquet’s deal has now been confirmed to run until 2031 and there’s an option to cover the 2031/32 season too.