Jacquet's fast start at Liverpool vindicates £60m gamble
Jeremy Jacquet has settled quickly at Liverpool after his £60m summer move, starting every Premier League and Champions League game and earning a France debut under Zinedine Zidane.
Jeremy Jacquet has started every Premier League and Champions League match for Liverpool since his £60m summer arrival, and his assured display in the win over Brighton helped the club to a fourth clean sheet of the season. The 21-year-old French centre-back has played 956 minutes this season, more than any Liverpool player except Alisson, according to the article.
His path to Anfield followed Liverpool's earlier pursuit of Leny Yoro, who instead joined Manchester United from Lille in 2024. That search alerted Liverpool to Jacquet at Rennes, and the article notes the contrast on Sunday, when Yoro made a costly error in United's defeat by Bournemouth while Jacquet impressed against Brighton. The article says his adaptation has even surprised senior figures at the club.
The transition is more striking given Jacquet spent much of the year recovering from a broken shoulder sustained in February and a knee problem in the summer. He did not play a minute of Liverpool's US tour and made his debut in a pre-season friendly against Como, scoring at Anfield a week before the league season began. After Ibrahima Konate joined Real Madrid, and with injuries to Joe Gomez and Giovanni Leoni, Jacquet started at Newcastle.
The article reports four Premier League clean sheets for Jacquet, who ranks fourth in the top flight for interceptions (15) and blocks (10) and has made more tackles (19) than any Liverpool team-mate. His form led to a France debut under Zinedine Zidane, who praised his bravery and quality in duels against Italy. Virgil van Dijk said their partnership is improving and that Jacquet is "doing very well", adding that his ceiling has not yet been reached.
Chelsea had also rated Jacquet highly and he could have faced Liverpool in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday had the club not accelerated its January push for him. The move raised eyebrows given he had made only 36 Ligue 1 appearances, but the article says he has quickly become one of the first names on the teamsheet.
Image: Getty Images / BBC Sport
