Liverpool’s £60 million summer signing Jeremy Jacquet is thriving at Anfield — so much so that no Liverpool outfield player has played more minutes than him this season. The 21-year-old French centre-back, signed from Rennes, has gone from injury-hit newcomer to undroppable starter in a matter of months.
Jeremy Jacquet (Credits: BBC Sport)
Jacquet marked Liverpool’s win over Brighton on Sunday — their fourth clean sheet of the season — with an Instagram post soundtracked by lyrics about trusting “the process” and “the plan.” It was a fitting choice. His rise at Anfield has been built on exactly that kind of patience, after a year disrupted by a broken shoulder in February and a knee problem in the summer.
Liverpool Jacquet Minutes and Stats Tell the Story
Since arriving, Jacquet has started every game in the Premier League and Champions League, logging 956 minutes — more than any Liverpool player bar goalkeeper Alisson on 990. He did not play a minute of the club’s summer tour of the United States, making his debut in a pre-season friendly against Como, where he scored at Anfield just a week before the league season began.
His breakthrough came after Ibrahima Konate’s departure to Real Madrid left a vacancy alongside Virgil van Dijk, with Joe Gomez and Giovanni Leoni struggling with injuries. Handed his first Premier League start at Newcastle’s St James’ Park, Jacquet responded with an encouraging display, completing more accurate passes and successful final-third passes than any other player in the first half despite an early concession.
The numbers since then have been striking: four Premier League clean sheets, 15 interceptions (fourth in the top flight), 10 blocks (fourth), and 19 tackles — more than any Liverpool team-mate. His handling of Brentford’s Igor Thiago stood out, and his short sleeves and gloves look against Brighton drew comparisons on social media to French great Marcel Desailly.
The Yoro Sliding Doors Moment
Things could have looked very different. Liverpool’s pursuit of Leny Yoro in 2024 first alerted them to Jacquet, then playing for Rennes. Yoro ultimately chose Manchester United from Lille — and on Sunday, the contrast was stark, as Yoro’s error contributed to United’s loss to Bournemouth while Jacquet produced another assured display against Brighton.
The move itself raised eyebrows at the time: Jacquet had made only 36 appearances in France’s Ligue 1, and Chelsea were also keen, rating him highly internally at Stamford Bridge. Liverpool, under former sporting director Richard Hughes, waited until the summer after Rennes refused a January move, beating Chelsea to his signature.
His form has already earned a France debut under Zinedine Zidane, with the boy from Bondy — the same Paris suburb that produced Kylian Mbappe and William Saliba — impressing against Italy earlier this month. “Very good. Very, very good,” Zidane said. “Brave. He wasn’t afraid to come out a long way. Very good in the duels.” On Wednesday, Jacquet could face another test of his progress when Xabi Alonso brings Chelsea to Anfield in the Carabao Cup — the club he turned down to wear red.
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Source: BBC Sport — read the full story there.
