Liverpool\u2019s incoming centre back J\u00e9r\u00e9my Jacquet suffered what Rennes manager Habib Beye described as a \u201cserious\u201d injury during Rennes\u2019 3\u20131 defeat to Lens on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The setback arrives less than a week after Liverpool confirmed Jacquet will join Anfield this summer in a deal worth \u00a360 million. \u00a355 million of that fee is guaranteed money and a further \u00a35 million could be paid in performance related add-ons.<\/p>\n
In the short term his absence matters little to Rennes, but for Liverpool there is a wider concern. The club will want Jacquet to be as match-fit and experienced as possible before he joins, and Beye\u2019s suggestion that the injury may be serious raises the prospect of months on the sidelines.<\/p>\n
When a player leaves the field clutching a shoulder, a dislocation is a common diagnosis. The key question is whether the shoulder can be cleanly reduced or whether surgery will be required to prevent a recurrence. The draft example of Jude Bellingham is instructive: “Real Madrid and England superstar Jude Bellingham managed an ongoing shoulder issue for close to two years, before he finally went down the surgery route. He missed two months of action as a result.” Liverpool will hope Jacquet\u2019s problem is less severe and that he can return to action for Rennes sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n
Despite the transfer outlay, Liverpool\u2019s immediate priority remains performance in the Premier League and Champions League. The upturn in form of both Manchester United and Chelsea has increased the pressure on Arne Slot\u2019s underperforming squad, who sit sixth in the Premier League table and are four points adrift of the Blues. The Reds do have a game in hand, a heavyweight clash with Manchester City at Anfield, but must begin stringing together more consistent results if they are to stay in touch with the top five. That is now Slot\u2019s revised target: qualifying for next season\u2019s Champions League.<\/p>\n
There are positives, notably the improving chemistry between Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitik\u00e9, but concerns remain about flaky defending and the inability to keep clean sheets. Many point to a lack of manpower at centre back as a key reason for Jacquet\u2019s signing. Ibrahima Konat\u00e9 could still leave this summer on a free transfer, and Virgil van Dijk have performed below their usual levels.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
J\u00e9r\u00e9my Jacquet faces a possible long layoff after a \u201cserious\u201d shoulder problem; Liverpool must adapt<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6626,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[175,1163],"tags":[299,1393,1047],"class_list":["post-6627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-liverpool","category-transfers","tag-arne-slot","tag-centre-back","tag-champions-league"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6627"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6627\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}