Liverpool
Why Liverpool Postponed Jeremy Jacquet’s £60m Transfer
Liverpool delayed Jacquet’s £60m transfer so the fee hits 2026–27 accounts and Rennes keep him 2026
Liverpool and Rennes agreed a £60 million transfer for Jeremy Jacquet, but the Premier League club delayed formal confirmation. League regulations and accounting timing played a central role in that choice, with L’Équipe reporting the delay allows Liverpool to record the fee in the 2026–27 financial year.
The Reds committed more than £450 million ahead of the 2025–26 campaign, breaking the British transfer record twice. That spending was possible because Liverpool had limited outlay in previous seasons and benefited from prize money following their Premier League triumph. Still, the club’s resources are not infinite and timing a major payment across seasons reduces immediate pressure on profit and sustainability rules.
Had the deal been completed in January, Rennes would likely have expected at least one instalment of the fee. By postponing the transfer, Liverpool can defer those payments into the next set of accounts. The arrangement also suited Rennes on the sporting side: they keep their best defender for another six months. “We negotiated the transfer, obtained the amount that the club looked for, we respected the player’s wish and we have him for the remainder of the season,” manager Habib Beye said. “It’s the reality of the market. We simply don’t have the means to fight.”
Completing and immediately loaning a player back would come with practical complications. Any Liverpool loanee is subject to close monitoring by the parent club, which typically requests extensive physical and medical data. That volume of information can shift a player’s attention toward their next destination rather than their current club.
In concrete terms, finalising the move on Monday night would probably have prevented Jacquet featuring in Tuesday’s French Cup tie against Marseille. The 20-year-old played the full 90 minutes for Rennes. The transfer, as structured, will make Jacquet Liverpool’s second-most expensive centre back ever once the fee is recorded in the later accounts.
“A defender who’s pretty calm on the ball,” was Jacquet’s description of himself as a player. “I might sometimes seem a bit nonchalant—I’ve already been told that—but I’m very focused and I try to analyse situations well.
“And then a big part of my game is playing the ball out well, finding the right little pass and breaking the lines.”
Arsenal
Premier League table recalculated without VAR after early season controversy
The table shifts without VAR, but United, Forest and Haaland remain central to the early debate.
With five games played in the 2026/27 season, the Premier League has already been dragged into a series of officiating disputes despite hopes of a lighter touch. Howard Webb has issued an apology that was quickly rejected, and further explanations are still being awaited across the division.
Removing VAR from the picture changes the table in several places, but Manchester United remain the major talking point. Erling Haaland’s winner in the Manchester derby should not have stood, according to Webb’s own acknowledgement, after officials became caught in what he described as “tunnel vision.” The issue centred on Enzo Fernández’s movement in front of Lisandro Martínez, while VAR Matt Donohue focused on whether Haaland was onside when he turned the ball in past Senne Lammens.
Even so, United would still sit 12th with the additional point, showing that the decision was costly without transforming their wider position.
At the top, Arsenal would move clear of the rest on 12 points, with Brentford and Manchester City next on 11. Liverpool would also be better off overall, although their draw in this version of the table follows the denied goal against Nottingham Forest when Florian Wirtz’s effort was ruled out for offside.
Forest are one of the biggest beneficiaries of the no-VAR table. Oliver Glasner’s side would climb to 10th, helped by the sense that they have been denied three points in separate incidents. Neco Williams had a goal disallowed against Tottenham Hotspur after an alleged handball in a goal-line scramble with Sandro Tonali, and that decision came without any definitive camera angle proving the offence. Williams later posted: “Clear and obvious they say,” while Glasner added after the Coventry City match: “Of course I have thoughts but I don’t want to speak about it again,” after Igor Jesus was judged to have tripped Caleb Yirenkyi before scoring.
Haaland’s own frustration also featured in the aftermath of the derby. He said: “I thought there was maybe someone who had flicked it, I don’t normally go offside,” and added: “I talked to [referee] Michael Oliver and I told him I took it personal that he thought I went offside.”
The record suggests otherwise. As the draft notes, Haaland has only been correctly flagged offside once this season.
Atlético Madrid
Four possible next stops for Alexis Mac Allister after Liverpool contract uncertainty
Liverpool have not offered Alexis Mac Allister a new deal, leaving interest from Manchester City and Atlético Madrid.
Alexis Mac Allister’s future has become a talking point after Liverpool chose not to hand him a new contract. The midfielder remains tied to Anfield until 2028, but the absence of an extension has left the situation open to interpretation.
His standing at the club has not always been in doubt. Mac Allister was outstanding in his first season and played a central role as Liverpool secured their second Premier League title in 2024-25. Even so, there was a clear drop-off during Arne Slot’s difficult second season in charge, which explains why the club may be reluctant to move quickly.
The 27-year-old has since apologised for remarks he made, saying they were the result of an emotional reaction to a difficult moment. That has not removed the broader issue, though. With no renewal agreed and the contract already ticking towards its final years, interest from elsewhere remains a realistic possibility.
One club mentioned in connection with him is Manchester City, who were viewed as considering him as a possible alternative to Enzo Fernández in the summer. However, they ultimately moved on to their preferred option, and after restructuring their midfield so quickly, a move for a player with Mac Allister’s profile appears unlikely in the near term.
Atlético Madrid also sit among the potential destinations. Diego Simeone has not been shy about welcoming compatriots, and the club may soon need to think about succession planning around Koke, whose long service remains remarkable. At the same time, Atlético are already well stocked in midfield, with Morten Hjulmand and Kang Lee-in added in the summer, while Pablo Barrios, Rodrigo Mendoza and Ottó Vargas are all part of the picture.
That makes Mac Allister less of a specific target and more of a market opportunity. Even so, Simeone’s interest is easy to imagine.
Liverpool
Robertson on the grief that changed Liverpool’s season
Robertson says Liverpool’s 2025-26 season was shaped by grief after Jota’s death and the dressing room was broken.
Andy Robertson has described the emotional weight of Liverpool’s 2025-26 campaign after Diogo Jota’s death, saying the club’s struggles went far beyond tactics or transfer business.
The former Liverpool fullback said the atmosphere inside the dressing room was shattered in the aftermath of the tragedy, and that the pain affected every part of the team’s season. Liverpool finished fifth, ended without a trophy and later saw Arne Slot, Mohamed Salah, Ibrahima Konaté and Robertson depart.
“It’s difficult to describe or talk about it, because what we went through was horrendous,” the Scotland international said of Jota’s death on the Stick to Football podcast. “If I’m talking about the new signings, they’re coming into a club that is heartbroken, and they’re trying.
“That’s when I felt so sorry for these guys because they had signed and they were signing for big money. If I’m talking about football, when it took them months to settle in, because we were like ghosts.
“We didn’t care about football. That was the truth of it. We didn’t care about football because we just lost one of our best mates in the changing room.”
Liverpool’s decline was severe even before the emotional backdrop was fully considered. After winning the league in 2024-25 and spending close to £450 million ($600 million) last summer on players including Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitiké, the side had to wait until the final day of 2025-26 to secure Champions League qualification.
They closed the campaign on 60 points, 25 behind title winners Arsenal. Under Slot, the club’s defeat total rose from four in his debut league season to 12, with half of those losses coming in the opening months after Jota’s passing.
“All footballers have that edge, don’t we, and I think when you lose that edge, sometimes you can’t perform to your best,” Robertson continued. “I think last season we lost the edge. When I look back on it now, I think we lost that determination a little bit, because I know at times we were going, ‘What’s the point?’
“Look at what his family are going through, look at his kids, but we were grieving. It was our mate, at the end of the day. He’s not just a footballer to us. He was a teammate, a friend. He was everything. For us it was incredibly difficult.”
Jota’s memory remains part of the club’s response, with Liverpool retiring number 20 ahead of last season and wearing a special honorary patch on their shirts.
