Fabrizio Romano: Liverpool 'would love to do business now' for £57m defender eyed by Man Utd and Arsenal

Liverpool are through to the last 16 of the Champions League after confirming their place in the knock-outs with a comfortable win over Qarabag FK.

The Reds breezed to a 6-0 victory at Anfield on Wednesday night, to finish third in the league phase and set up a last-16 tie with one of Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Club Brugge or Galatasaray.

They have already faced two of those clubs this campaign, as they defeated Atletico with a 92nd-minute header from Virgil van Dijk but lost 1-0 to Galatasaray in Turkey.

On Wednesday night, Ryan Gravenberch was used at centre-back for Liverpool with Joe Gomez injured and Ibrahima Konate still unavailable following the death of his father.

The Reds managed to keep a clean sheet but did lose Jeremie Frimpong to injury. The right-back is now expected to spend a sustained period on the sidelines.

With Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni both out with long-term injuries, the Reds are in need of adding to their defensive options. They opted against making a move for Marc Guehi this month, paving the way for Manchester City to sign him for less than £30m.

They are reported to be interested in Rennes defender Jeremy Jacquet. According to a mid-January report from national French newspaper L’Equipe, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Man United, Arsenal and Liverpool are all in the race to sign Jacquet.

However, Rennes want £57m before they consider selling him. It has been claimed the defender prefers a move to a Chelsea while Fabrizio Romano has confirmed previously that Liverpool are very much contenders for the player.

In another update on his YouTube channel, he says the Reds want to do business now but Rennes are resistant to selling the centre-back.

“Chelsea and Liverpool would love to do business now,” Romano said on his YouTube channel. “But Rennes insist on selling the player in the summer.

“So Chelsea, Liverpool and Bayern [Munich] are all in the conversations with Rennes and the player side. So let’s see what’s going to happen there."

Asked if the club could look to make some late transfer moves this month following the recent spate of injuries, Arne Slot said: “We as a club always make decisions that we, at least, think [are] smart decisions. So, we not only look at the short term, we also look at the long term, longer term – that's why we sign young players as well, very good players but young ones that can still develop. Now we can see this development with a few.

“And it always depends on are there players available that we think can help us? And if they are, can we afford them? And does this also be helpful for the longer-term future because our players come back from injury as well?

“I just said we don't have a squad where we have four right-backs and 12 midfielders and three or four No.9s – that's not how it works over here. So, we have to do the smart things for the near future but also for the longer future.

“Let's first see how Jeremie [Frimpong] is. Maybe he's not able to play Saturday but maybe he's able to play one or two days later. We now go into a schedule with one game a week, so that would usually mean less injuries but you're never sure.”