Jeremy Jacquet pointed to the opportunity to learn from Virgil van Dijk and a quicker path to playing time as key reasons for choosing Liverpool over Chelsea, though he conceded to feeling the pressure of his lofty price tag.
Jacquet will join up with Liverpool this summer after agreeing a pre-contract deal with them in February, with the Reds paying £55million and £5m in add-ons to sign him from Rennes.
The 20-year-old helped Rennes to a sixth-placed finish in Ligue 1 this season as they narrowly missed out on Champions League qualification.
The centre-back made 21 appearances, but has not played since February owing to a shoulder injury he suffered against Lens.
However, he is said to be on track to be fit for the start of Liverpool’s pre-season training and he and 19-year-old Giovanni Leoni, who tore his ACL on debut for the club last season, could soon move into prominent roles amid doubts over the futures of Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez.
Konate has indicated he will stay at the club but has yet to extend a contract that expires in June.
And the potential to quickly step into the side was crucial in Jacquet choosing Merseyside over West London.
“I won’t say it [the decision to sign] was a quick one, because I took my time with this big step but I quickly saw myself at Liverpool,” Jacquet told Ouest-France.
“I’ll be 21 in July. For me, there’s the sporting project and the personal project. At my age, I prioritise the sporting side. I’m focused on football.
“Promising young players command quite high prices and of course, that adds pressure: am I worth that price or not? I think I have the minimum resources to go there. I’m going there to play as much as possible.
“If the biggest clubs in Europe are interested, we’re not going to turn them down. They’re there for a reason.
“At Chelsea, I felt there were quite a lot of people [in his position]. Whereas at Liverpool, apart from the fact that Virgil van Dijk is nearing the end of his career, training with him is going to be huge.
“He’s going to teach me so much. There’s also Ibou Konate, who can help me settle in. Training with guys like that, it doesn’t get any better than that.
“I spoke with the management; the club’s history weighed heavily on my decision but so did the project they offered me.”
