Liverpool's summer signing Jeremy Jacquet has suffered a serious shoulder injury, just days after agreeing a £60m deal with the club. The 20-year-old French defender was forced to leave the pitch in agony after falling awkwardly during a 3-1 defeat to Lens in Ligue 1.
Rennes head coach Habib Beye described Jacquet's injury as "serious" and revealed that his teammate Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal also suffered a muscular strain. The French defender was involved in the same incident that left Jacquet injured, and Beye expressed concern about their fitness for the rest of the season.
Liverpool had been eager to sign Jacquet, who is seen as one of the most promising young defenders in Europe. His transfer was completed on 1 July, with a five-year contract worth £55m plus an additional £5m in add-ons. The deal came after Arne Slot described Jacquet as "a very big talent and maybe even more than a talent."
The injury blow has thrown a significant spanner into the works for Liverpool, who will now have to navigate the complexities of injury management without their new signing. Meanwhile, Rennes are left reeling from the loss of two key players, with Beye admitting that his team's prospects for the remainder of the season have been significantly reduced.
The result also had significant implications for Lens, who reclaimed top spot in Ligue 1 after a 10th successive home win. The French side's impressive run has seen them narrow the gap to Paris Saint-Germain, who host bitter rivals Marseille on Sunday.
In other European football news, Barcelona thrashed Mallorca 3-0 at home, increasing their lead at the top of LaLiga standings. The Spanish giants dominated possession from start to finish, before Lamine Yamal struck a superb shot in the 61st minute to seal the win.
Dortmund edged out relegation-threatened Wolfsburg 2-1, with Serhou Guirassy scoring a stoppage-time winner to give his team a vital three points. The victory cut Bayern Munich's Bundesliga lead to just three points, setting up an intriguing showdown at the Allianz Arena on Sunday.
Mainz stunned Augsburg 2-0, while Hamburg picked up their first win on the road this season by defeating Heidenheim 2-0. Freiburg's Jan-Niklas Beste scored a sensational solo goal to edge out Werder Bremen in a crucial match that saw them extend their winless streak to 11 games.
In Serie A, Napoli snatched a dramatic 3-2 victory over Genoa with a stoppage-time penalty from Rasmus Hojlund. The Danish striker's goal came after a VAR review found Genoa substitute Maxwel Cornet had stood on Antonio Vergara's foot, setting up a major boost to Napoli's hopes of retaining the Scudetto.
The outcome marked a significant turn of events in the Italian top flight, where relegation-threatened Fiorentina face Torino in the day's late kick-off.
Rennes head coach Habib Beye described Jacquet's injury as "serious" and revealed that his teammate Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal also suffered a muscular strain. The French defender was involved in the same incident that left Jacquet injured, and Beye expressed concern about their fitness for the rest of the season.
Liverpool had been eager to sign Jacquet, who is seen as one of the most promising young defenders in Europe. His transfer was completed on 1 July, with a five-year contract worth £55m plus an additional £5m in add-ons. The deal came after Arne Slot described Jacquet as "a very big talent and maybe even more than a talent."
The injury blow has thrown a significant spanner into the works for Liverpool, who will now have to navigate the complexities of injury management without their new signing. Meanwhile, Rennes are left reeling from the loss of two key players, with Beye admitting that his team's prospects for the remainder of the season have been significantly reduced.
The result also had significant implications for Lens, who reclaimed top spot in Ligue 1 after a 10th successive home win. The French side's impressive run has seen them narrow the gap to Paris Saint-Germain, who host bitter rivals Marseille on Sunday.
In other European football news, Barcelona thrashed Mallorca 3-0 at home, increasing their lead at the top of LaLiga standings. The Spanish giants dominated possession from start to finish, before Lamine Yamal struck a superb shot in the 61st minute to seal the win.
Dortmund edged out relegation-threatened Wolfsburg 2-1, with Serhou Guirassy scoring a stoppage-time winner to give his team a vital three points. The victory cut Bayern Munich's Bundesliga lead to just three points, setting up an intriguing showdown at the Allianz Arena on Sunday.
Mainz stunned Augsburg 2-0, while Hamburg picked up their first win on the road this season by defeating Heidenheim 2-0. Freiburg's Jan-Niklas Beste scored a sensational solo goal to edge out Werder Bremen in a crucial match that saw them extend their winless streak to 11 games.
In Serie A, Napoli snatched a dramatic 3-2 victory over Genoa with a stoppage-time penalty from Rasmus Hojlund. The Danish striker's goal came after a VAR review found Genoa substitute Maxwel Cornet had stood on Antonio Vergara's foot, setting up a major boost to Napoli's hopes of retaining the Scudetto.
The outcome marked a significant turn of events in the Italian top flight, where relegation-threatened Fiorentina face Torino in the day's late kick-off.
jeremy jacquet was like their savior and now its all downhill lol didnt see this coming but glad i dont have to worry about lfc making a deep run in the champs league anymore 
rennes is just sitting there collecting those points while liverpool is stuck on bench duty meanwhile barca is still killing it 
Injury blow to Liverpool's new signing Jeremy Jacquet is just devastating! 
He was so hyped up after agreeing that massive £60m deal and now it seems like his season is all but over 
I feel for Rennes too, losing not one but two key players is a huge setback. 
Their chances of finishing top 4 are now looking shaky 
One minute you're up, the next minute you're down. It's like that one friend who always seems to have some drama going on in their life. You can never relax because something new is bound to come along and throw everything off kilter.
. The team's gonna have to figure out how to navigate the rest of the season without their new signing 
. Not great timing for them, considering they just splashed out £60m on him 
. Their chances of making it to the top seem kinda slim now 
️. On a lighter note, Lens is still looking strong, but it'll be tough for them to keep that momentum going 
.
Jacquet was their biggest signing and now he's out for god knows how long? £60m down the drain already 
and they're gonna have to scramble to find some decent defenders now... I'm not even gonna start on the other teams involved in these injuries, Lens and Rennes are basically done with the season. 
Dortmund beating Wolfsburg is a nice win for them, but that's just a minor blip in their overall journey to the title...
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. The £60m deal was supposed to be a game-changer for them, but now they'll have to regroup and find other solutions 
. Can't wait to see how they recover from this setback 
. Also, it's super sad for Rennes & Lens, who were looking strong before this injury happened 
! And Dortmund just edged out Wolfsburg with a sick stoppage-time winner 
? Jacquet was a promising young defender but now he's out for who knows how long and Liverpool's stuck with nothing 
i just hope jürgen klopp can find some decent cover for him because this could get ugly 
that's a big blow, especially since he was seen as one of the most promising young defenders in europe 
meanwhile, lens getting top spot in ligue 1 is a nice little bonus, but it's not like they didn't already have a strong team going into this season 
The football world is full of twists and turns, just like politics - you never know what's going to happen next! 
barcelona is killin it in laliga right now 
freiburgs jan-niklas beste goal was so sick 
so gutted for Liverpool fans, thought Jacquet was gonna be their savior 
rangers are looking good this season though, hope they can take down the Old Firm 
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. Fingers crossed he can stay fit and become the star player we know he can be 
️!