Chelsea in talks with Rennes for Jeremy Jacquet transfer

Jeremy Jacquet is Chelsea's target in the January 2026 transfer market (Instagram/@j.jacquet97).

Chelsea have held talks with Rennes over a transfer of defender Jeremy Jacquet. Initially, The Blues planned not to be active during the January 2026 transfer window before strengthening the squad in the summer.

However, according to ESPN reports, Chelsea have opted to speed up their plans after rival clubs began to increase their interest in the 20-year-old.

Jacquet, a France Under-21 international, is open to a move to the English Premier League, but Rennes are demanding more than 60 million euros (around Rp1.1 trillion) and are in a strong position to negotiate as the 20-year-old's contract expires in 2029.

Personal terms are not expected to be an issue and Chelsea aim to resume talks with Rennes in the coming days.

Jacquet is a graduate of the Rennes academy and made his debut in January 2024. He has appeared 16 times this season and was sent off in a 0-5 defeat at home to Paris Saint-Germain last month.

The move to bring in a centre-back was made after former manager Enzo Maresca was told last summer that the club would not add a centre-back following Levi Colwill's serious injury.

Chelsea were interested in signing Dean Huijsen at the time, but the Spaniard chose to join Real Madrid. The Blues then chose to wait for the main target to be available rather than entering the transfer market at Maresca's request.

If an agreement for Jacquet falls through, they could return to Bournemouth to pursue Marcos Senesi, whose contract expires at the end of the season, but there has been no contact between the two clubs.

The Blues are also interested in Como defender Jacabo Ramon, who is also being monitored by Real Madrid.

Chelsea's ability to act in the transfer market is hampered by the need to comply with sanctions related to violations of UEFA's financial rules.

They must record a positive balance in the trade of players related to the Champions League squad even though the club insists that they have the flexibility to add players if necessary.

Meanwhile, Colwill is showing good progress after knee surgery and is expected to return before the end of the season.