Chelsea ‘agreed’ transfer risks collapse due to two factors as PL star named as alternative to ‘priority’
According to reports, Chelsea have an ‘agreement’ to sign Rennes star Jeremy Jacquet, but this deal could still collapse for two reasons.
In recent days, it has become clear that the Blues are in the market for a new centre-back and have identified Jacquet as their leading target.
Chelsea have a stacked squad with a lot of up-and-coming talents, but they are held back by a couple of glaring weaknesses as they need a new goalkeeper, centre-back and striker if they are to win the Premier League and/or Champions League within the next year or two.
Liam Rosenior‘s side clearly feel Jacquet is an upgrade on their current centre-back options, and Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that the player has ‘agreed’ personal terms with the Blues.
Regarding what’s left to be done, Romano explained: “Chelsea recently sent a delegation to France to meet Rennes and begin negotiations for Jeremy Jacquet.
“Rennes are asking for very significant money because they consider him one of the best young defenders in Europe.
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“My understanding is that they want a record sale for the club, higher than the €64m they received from Manchester City for Jeremy Doku, so between €65-70m.
“Chelsea are working on this with their directors, owners and with the approval of Liam Rosenior, who knows French football very well from his time at Strasbourg.
“New contacts are expected this week as Chelsea look to accelerate discussions, but they will negotiate the structure and valuation rather than immediately meeting Rennes’ price.”
As Romano mentions, the main issue for Chelsea is settling on a fee with Rennes, though another potential problem is that their head coach, Habib Beye, has urged the club to turn down offers for the centre-back this month.
“I believe that today he is a very important player for our objectives,” Beye said.
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“If tomorrow we were to let him go, we would have to lower our expectations.
“When you have offers from such a club, it can make things a little hesitant.
“I’m very firm on this situation. He is an essential player for us.”
Now, journalist Ben Jacobs has provided a further update, claiming Chelsea have their eye on two alternatives as Rennes continue to insist on their high asking price for Jacquet.
Jacobs said on X: ‘Chelsea continue talks with Rennes for Jeremy Jacquet. Player keen on the move. Rennes want more than the €64m they sold Jeremy Doku for. French defender is Chelsea’s priority for now.
‘As exclusively revealed last week on @talkSPORT, other options Chelsea could explore are Como’s Jacobo Ramon and Bournemouth’s Marcos Senesi.
‘Ramon tough to pull off as he only joined Como over the summer. Real have a buyback clause and have not ruled out triggering it at the end of the season.
‘Senesi a free agent this summer. Bournemouth haven’t had any approach from Chelsea or other clubs yet.’