Jeremy Jacquet celebrated Liverpool’s victory over Brighton on Sunday with an Instagram post featuring the lyrics “Trust in the process, trust in the plan.” That mindset has guided the 21-year-old defender since his £60m summer transfer to Anfield, a move that is already exceeding expectations.
From Rennes to Anfield
Liverpool initially monitored Leny Yoro in 2024 before the defender ultimately chose Manchester United from Lille. That search led the Reds to another French centre-back at Rennes: Jacquet. While Yoro struggled in United’s defeat against Bournemouth, Jacquet delivered another assured performance as Liverpool secured their fourth clean sheet of the Premier League season.
The defender’s rapid adaptation has surprised senior figures at the club. Since arriving, Jacquet has started every game in both the Premier League and the Champions League, logging 956 minutes—more than any Liverpool player except Alisson at 990 minutes. This transition is especially remarkable given that he spent most of the year recovering from a broken shoulder in February and a knee problem over the summer.
Jacquet missed Liverpool’s pre-season tour of the United States entirely, making his debut in a friendly against Como where he scored at Anfield just a week before the league campaign began. Following Ibrahima Konate’s departure to Real Madrid, and amidst injury issues for Joe Gomez and Giovanni Leoni, Jacquet earned his first Premier League start away at Newcastle.
Despite conceding early at St James’ Park, he recorded the most accurate passes and successful final-third passes of any player in the first half. Although a defeat against Manchester City and Erling Haaland provided a learning curve, Jacquet has generally excelled, handling physical challenges like Brentford’s Igor Thiago and drawing social media comparisons to French great Marcel Desailly for his short-sleeves and gloves look.
Domestically, he ranks fourth in the top flight for interceptions with 15, fourth for blocks with 10, and leads all Liverpool team-mates with 19 tackles. His stellar club form earned him a senior France debut under Zinedine Zidane, hailing from Bondy—the same Paris suburb that produced Kylian Mbappe and William Saliba. Zidane praised the youngster after his performance against Italy, describing him as very good, brave, and strong in duels.
Beating Chelsea to a Star
Ahead of Liverpool’s Carabao Cup match against Chelsea, it was revealed that Jacquet could easily have been playing in blue. Chelsea held strong interest and rated him highly internally, but the defender chose the Reds after Liverpool accelerated their pursuit in January.
The move initially raised eyebrows given he had made only 36 appearances in Ligue 1. With Rennes refusing a January sale and Liverpool having missed out on Marc Guehi the previous summer, former sporting director Richard Hughes was prepared to wait. Speaking on deadline day in January, journalist Julien Laurens told BBC Sport that Jacquet possessed the qualities to become one of the world’s best centre-backs.
Off the pitch, Jacquet is taking English lessons alongside teammates Bradley Barcola, Victor Munoz, and Ronald Araujo. Living in Liverpool and spending time with young players like Rio Ngumoha and Trey Nyoni, staff at the AXA Training Centre note he is as mature and confident off the pitch as he is on it.
Playing alongside experienced partners like Virgil van Dijk and Ronald Araujo has aided his development, turning him quickly into one of the first names on the team sheet. Van Dijk noted that their relationship is improving daily through games, training sessions, and communication, adding that Jacquet is performing very well while still developing his full potential.
Liverpool return to action on Wednesday when they welcome Chelsea to Anfield in the Carabao Cup.
