'Ridiculous!' - Liverpool branded 'suckers' for splashing £60m on Jeremy Jacquet by France World Cup winner

On deadline day for the January transfer window, Liverpool confirmed they had reached an agreement with Ligue 1 side Rennes for the transfer of Jacquet, with a £60m fee being reported in the media.

Speaking after his arrival was made official, the 20-year-old said: "I am honoured to sign for Liverpool, one of the greatest football institutions in the world. It was also very important for me to finish my adventure in red and black on a high note, at the club I grew up with, the club that is so close to my heart. I am approaching this second half of the season with the desire to experience some wonderful emotions with my teammates and the fans."

It was thought that Chelsea would be the Premier League team to snap Jacquet up at some point, but the Reds made their move and have confirmed he will spend the second half of the campaign back with Rennes.

Spending by English clubs has been criticised in Europe in recent years, with many pundits claiming the cash at their disposal makes it an uneven playing ground for other clubs around the continent who are vying for the same transfers. However, French World Cup winner Christophe Dugarry insisted Jacquet's move was a case of Liverpool "losing their minds" in the market.

He told told RMC Sport: "This isn't meant to offend the player; honestly, he's not to blame at all, and we wish him all the best because he's a good player. When you have suckers like that, well done to Rennes.

"Rennes managed to find a sucker like Liverpool for €72 million."

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It was put to Dugarry that Manchester United paid a similar amount to sign Leny Yoro last year, to which he responded: "Very well, but look at the result. Let them continue, all these English clubs, sending tens of millions of euros.

"This isn't just a two-tiered football situation anymore, it's a football that's lost its mind. Let's stop trying to pretend there's a justification for it. There's no justification whatsoever.

"And even for poor little Jacquet, this transfer is going to put a lot of pressure on him. Even him, the poor kid, who is certainly a very good player, is going to arrive with a pall of pressure.

"His performances will be viewed differently, even though he doesn't deserve it. Those of us who know football, let's not try to justify this amount by saying it's because Liverpool has money or whatever. It's meaningless.

"I don't know what's going on, it's ridiculous. No, it's not supply and demand. It's ridiculous, it's ridiculous."

While the outlay is obviously huge for a largely untested young player, Liverpool have paid what the market demanded and now have a highly-rated defensive prospect for the future to show for it. The Merseysiders picked up Giovanni Leoni in the summer - though the Italian cruelly suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury shortly after his arrival - and it looks like manager Arne Slot has a pair of centre-backs who could develop into some of the best in the world in their position.

For now, it will continue to be captain Virgil van Dijk who leads Liverpool's defence, while Ibrahima Konate returned to the starting XI with a goal on Saturday night in the 4-1 thrashing of Newcastle United. Both are expected to feature at Anfield again for the visit of Manchester City in Sunday's late kick-off in the Premier League.

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