Liverpool have agreed a £55 million (plus £5 million in add-ons) deal to sign young defender Jérémy Jacquet in the summer. At the age of 20, he is still developing, but the early signs are that he’ll grow into a complete, dominant center back.
His physical profile is exceptional. He has a burst of acceleration, agility, pace over longer stretches and a spring in his leap — he was clocked at a maximum speed of 34.5 km/h against Lille this season by Gradient Sports, while his aerial win rate of 75.5% is exceptional. He is also very comfortable on the ball, always looking to punch passes through defensive lines with speed, and has a nice switch pass to the opposite flank too.
Born and raised in Paris, Jacquet has been one of the best center backs in the French Ligue 1 this season, since Rennes called him back from a loan spell at Ligue 2 side Clermont Foot a year ago. And he is part of an incredible 2005 generation who came through at Rennes, alongside Desire Doué (Paris Saint-Germain), Mathys Tel (Tottenham Hotspur) and Jeanuël Belocian (Bayer Leverkusen).
He has represented France at every age group since U17 level and Didier Deschamps has had eye on him for the senior team as well ahead of the 2026 World Cup. So Liverpool appear to have got themselves a gem, after beating Chelsea to his signing, though many might question why he’s not arriving this month instead of in the summer. — Sam Tighe and Julien Laurens
Position
It’s worth noting that Jacquet’s top-level performances have largely come in a back three (he’s currently playing in the middle, while last year he spent time on the left despite being right-footed) and those roles are quite different to playing in a standard two-man central partnership.
But he has gained previous experience in a back four on loan with Clermont, and for some excellent French youth teams, so there shouldn’t be any nasty surprises there. — Tighe
Strengths
What immediately stands out is how complete he looks for a modern center back; physically and technically, very few boxes remain unchecked.
His mobility is highly impressive for a 6-foot-2 defender, he consistently appears in control of his movements and his pace is of a high level during both short recovery bursts and longer defensive sprints. There is also an impressive sense of calm to his game; he plays with his head up, rarely looks rushed and carries himself with a composed, almost effortless authority that is unusual not just for a 20-year-old, but for young defenders in general.
Yet, he’s a good box defender — ready for clearances and attentive to second balls — and he deals impeccably with aerial challenges.
His elegance is supported by an excellent technical ability and on-ball quality. Jacquet’s first touch is secure, allowing him to receive the ball with control under pressure, and he is comfortable circulating it in tight spaces and playing out from the back (though his left-footed distribution can be sharpened), which is a non-negotiable skill for center backs in high-possession teams.
While his short passing is reliable and efficient, it is his longer distribution that catches the eye as a proper weapon. He regularly executes nice switches of play and incisive — often one-touch — passes through central lanes, often breaking opposition lines in a single action.
There’s rarely the superfluous extra touch that delays momentum, which means that his distribution can cause damage against an unbalanced defense. Indeed, for a defender of his age that speed of action is already at a high level. — Tor-Kristian Karlsen
How he can improve
The 4-0 defeat at Monaco on Saturday offered several examples of what he needs to work on. On the opening goal, Jacquet failed to properly interrupt the trajectory of a line-breaking central pass, stepping forward without fully appreciating the space, and got caught out of position to leave the channel open for Monaco to exploit.
The final two goals followed a similar pattern. On both occasions, Jacquet was inexplicably drawn wide to the left side, just inside the opposing half, and he mistimed his duels, which left his back line exposed.
While it is harsh to nitpick individual defensive errors — particularly for a young center back — these events do serve as examples that there are still margins to improve in his positional discipline, spatial awareness and split-second defensive decision-making, especially when stepping out of the defensive line. — Karlsen
Who else were linked?
Bayern Munich showed initial interest, but sources have told ESPN that Chelsea also matched the £60 million fee that Liverpool agreed with Rennes and personal terms were not expected to be an issue.
However, Chelsea are well stocked with center backs and as they recalled Mamadou Sarr from loan in addition to refusing offers for Josh Acheampong, there was going to be less competition for places at Liverpool than with the Blues. There is an expectation Ibrahima Konaté could leave Liverpool on a free transfer at the end of the season and after missing out on Marc Guéhi, so Jacquet could quickly establish himself on Merseyside. — James Olley
How will he fit at Liverpool?
Liverpool have struggled defensively all season and so the summer signing of Jacquet is viewed as key to bolstering the Reds’ backline. With Konaté’s future still up in the air and Joe Gomez having endured another campaign marred by injury, the signing of talented prospect Jacquet makes a lot of sense.
Arne Slot’s side already had one eye on the future when they signed Giovanni Leoni from Parma last summer, with the Italy youth international having been viewed as one of the best young center backs in the world before he suffered an ACL injury on debut in September.
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Considering 34-year-old captain Virgil van Dijk is out of contract in 2027, it is shrewd for Liverpool to be making signings for the long term, and Jacquet is regarded as having all the attributes to be a huge success on Merseyside.
However, Slot is still light on defensive options heading into the rest of this season. With Jacquet not set to join until the summer and a move for Sunderland loanee Lutsharel Geertruida now unlikely to proceed, the Anfield hierarchy face a decisive few months. — Beth Lindop
So many young footballers get swept up into super clubs’ massive squads, struggle to make an impression, and end up falling out the other side with their stock damaged. As good as Jacquet is — and he really is a superb young talent — where was the value in joining Chelsea, who currently have 10(!) first-team center backs on the books and are juggling Mamadou Sarr and Aaron Anselmino’s loans while finding a new home for Axel Disasi?
Liverpool, meanwhile, are grossly understaffed in this area — to the point where Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch are having to pitch in with shifts at the back — and could yet lose Konaté in the summer for free.
Football is a numbers game. You don’t have to be as clever as Manuel Akanji to do the math sometimes. — Tighe
Integration time will be crucial. The areas that still require development — positioning, reading danger early and choosing when to hold shape versus when to attack the ball — are exactly the aspects that tend to be tested hardest by the tempo and physical intensity of the Premier League.
That said, there are reasons to believe his adaptation could be quicker than expected. Training and playing alongside the experience and organizational presence of Virgil van Dijk should prove extremely useful. Playing in a back four should also naturally mitigate the level of freelancing that he appears prone to in Rennes’ relatively inexperienced back three.
In Slot’s structure, Jacquet’s composure, athleticism and passing range should, at least with time, turn out a very fine fit. — Karlsen
