After missing out on Crystal Palace star Marc Guehi, Liverpool have switched their focus to other centre-back targets.

The most recent rumour links them to well-known Chelsea target Jeremy Jacquet, who plays for Rennes. The French club reportedly want around £60m for the youngster, and Chelsea have already entered talks over a move.

Elsewhere, Teamtalk are reporting that Arne Slot now wants Inter Milan's Alessandro Bastoni as an alternative at centre-back and the Italian international would be open to leaving the San Siro. Liverpool were reportedly plotting an £87m move towards the back end of the year.

There are also reports that Borussia Dortmund’s Nico Schlotterbeck is being considered, while in a more audacious move, the Reds are said to hold a legitimate interest in Tottenham Hotspur star Micky van de Ven, with Real Madrid also thought to be keen.

When Manchester City finally moved for Marc Guehi, Pep Guardiola’s staff put together a data-led pitch showing exactly how the 25-year-old would fit into the team and even move in certain areas. It had to be good to beat Bayern Munich’s highly persuasive pitch, spearheaded by a great former City centre-half Vincent Kompany.

City made clear that Guehi was being signed to “win now”. Guardiola wanted a prime defender to take his team up a level, and “make sure” they give themselves the best chance of properly challenging this season. Injury to Josko Gvardiol sharpened the plans.

Chelsea are considering hijacking Nottingham Forest’s loan move for Douglas Luiz, with the Blues hoping to take the Brazilian on loan themselves until the end of the season.

Luiz has played just 13 times for Forest since joining last summer, but Chelsea could decide to add the 27-year-old to their squad due to the frequent absences of Romeo Lavia, Dario Essugo and even Cole Palmer.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek has emerged as a target for Aston Villa this month, according to The Telegraph.

Their interest in the midfielder comes amid an expectation that Boubacar Kamara will be out for the season.

However, they may face competition from Manchester United for the AC Milan man, with talkSPORT reporting that the Red Devils have been offered the chance to sign him on loan.

Aston Villa have expressed an interest in Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta, according to The Athletic.

In return, Palace are reportedly weighing up a move for Villa forward Evann Guessand, who joined the Villans last summer in a £28m move.

Sky Sports have also reported Villa are stepping up their interest in signing Tammy Abraham, who is on loan at Besiktas from Roma.

Hello and welcome to The Independent’s transfer news blog, bringing you all the latest transfer rumours and news from the January window.