Jeremy Jacquet is reportedly holding out for a transfer move to Chelsea despite strong interest from several top teams this January.
Chelsea have been pushing to strengthen at centre-back before the transfer deadline and identified Jacquet as their primary target having scouted the 20-year-old for some time.
Jacquet, enjoying only his second full season as a professional, is widely regarded to be among the most promising young defenders in French football and was heavily linked with Arsenal last summer.
Chelsea have since jumped ahead of Arsenal as the frontrunners to secure Jacquet’s services and widespread reports earlier this month claimed the Club World Cup winners had agreed personal terms with the youngster.
However, the Blues have so far come up short in their attempts to strike a deal with Rennes over a suitable transfer fee for Jacquet.
It’s understood there is a reluctance within Chelsea’s hierarchy to splash out in excess of £50million for Jacquet – but this could change if Rennes refuse to budge on their valuation, believed to be in the region of £56m.
Rennes have also been determined to keep hold of Jacquet until the summer. Therefore, it is a possibility that Chelsea could sign the France Under-21 international this winter, before immediately loaning him back to his current employers for the remainder of the season.
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A lack of progress in negotiations between Chelsea and Rennes has given the likes of Bayern Munich and Liverpool hope that there could still be a window of opportunity to swoop in and land the sought-after centre-half.
Crucially, though, Sky Sports report that Jacquet has privately ‘expressed a preference’ to complete a switch to Stamford Bridge, which could prove decisive in determining what the future holds for the Rennes star.
Jacquet’s current contract with Rennes runs through to June 2029.
Facing the media last week, Rennes head coach Habib Beye made it clear he did not want to lose ‘one of the best players’ in his team at the midway point of the campaign.
‘I believe that today he is a very important player for our objectives,’ Beye told reporters when asked if Jacquet could be on his way out of the club.
‘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.’
While Beye called on Rennes to ‘resist’ all proposals for Jacquet, he was unable to definitively rule out the possibility that the Frenchman could be on the move.
‘He is one of the best players in our team and so we have to resist that approach,’ the ex-Newcastle and Aston Villa full-back added.
‘There are several factors I don’t control in all of this. We’ll see what happens in the coming days.’
According to Beye, it would be ‘beneficial’ for everyone involved – including Chelsea – for Jacquet to stay put for the time being in order to continue his development with Rennes.
‘The power I have is to talk to him and tell him what I think of him at Stade Rennais, what I think of his development,’ he went on.
‘I know where he wants to go in his career. I think that today, I’m contributing, we’re all contributing as a staff to help him progress, to the point where he’s now being targeted by his best clubs.
‘In five months, he’ll be even more accomplished, and so, [if he stays] it can be beneficial for everyone, for the club, for Jeremy, and for the club that might come looking for him.’
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