Jeremy Jacquet has agreed to join Liverpool in the summer of 2026. The deal was completed for a rumoured £55m excluding add-ons between Liverpool and Rennes.
Jacquet, a 20-year-old 1.90m central defender, has been an impressive breakout star of Ligue 1. He attracted offers from some of the biggest clubs in the world, including Bayern Munich and Chelsea.
Why did Jeremy Jacquet choose Liverpool?
In the build-up to the transfer deadline, it looked like Jacquet was ready to choose Chelsea over Liverpool. When Liverpool were willing to meet his financial demands, he told Richard Hughes that Anfield was his preferred choice, according to The Athletic.
The obvious difference between the side is the opportunity to slot into the first team. Liverpool have a lack of depth at centre-back and Ibrahima Konate is yet to sign a new contract, which expires at the end of June this year.
While Jacquet seems like an obvious Konate replacement, if he leaves in the summer, Arne Slot has shared that the club view him as a long-term heir to Virgil Van Dijk.
In an interview with L’Equipe in October, Jacquet revealed that his idols as defenders were Van Dijk and Konate, a sign that learning from one or both of these defenders when he joins this summer was high up on his list.
How does Jacquet compare to his defensive idols?
Jacquet has traditionally played at the centre of a back-three, traditionally the anchor of the defensive unit. He has also spent time on the right-hand side of the defence, the side that Konate occupies.
According to The Athletic, Jacquet is in the top 5% for defenders in Europe’s top-five leagues for front foot defending, while also being in the top 15% of defenders for pass progression. A series of qualities that suit Liverpool’s aggressive defending style and their use of the defence to build out into attack.
Van Dijk and Konate have been put under a lot of pressure aerially this season and have the best success rate of aerial duels in the Premier League.
Jacquet leads Ligue 1 for aerial duel wins and while the physicality of the leagues is different, it is a sign that he would be able to match the requirements of a Liverpool defender.
Building the next generation
At 20 years old, Jacquet is a signing for the future, but also a player ready for first-team football. Liverpool started recruiting their next generation of defenders last summer with the signing of Giovanni Leoni.
The 19-year-old was a star for Parma and looked impressive in his first start in the Carabao Cup before sustaining an ACL injury.
Both players sat well above the rest for under 20 centre-backs in aerial duel wins last year and could indicate a strategy that the recruitment team at Anfield are aiming for: buying young defenders good in the air and coaching them further into the Liverpool playstyle.