Why Liverpool REALLY signed Jeremy Jacquet

Everything you need to know about the club's latest signing.

Liverpool have signed a special player in Jeremy Jacquet, who has the potential to go very far.

Sometimes a year in football can equal a lifetime anywhere else. This time last year, Jeremy Jacquet had just ended his loan spell for Ligue 2 side Clermont prematurely.

So impressive had he been on loan, and so desperate had Rennes found themselves that they needed the 19-year-old to come back for the second half of the 2024/25 season.

Jacquet came into a Rennes side that had lost eight of their last 11 matches. They had kept a clean-sheet in just three games and had conceded 18 goals during the period.

In his first start back, he helped the Ligue 1 side not only to a clean-sheet but claim a victory as well. He won seven out of 10 defensive duels and three out of three aerial duels in the game against Saint Etienne.

Rennes went onto win six of their next 13 matches, avoiding relegation with Jacquet starting 10 of those.

From the beginning, it was obvious Jacquet was a different kind of talent. He wasn’t an ordinary teenage centre-back. He never has been.

Despite having some injury problems during the early part of his career, Jacquet had the mental fortitude to come back every single time, not letting the set-backs have an impact on his ability to breakthrough into the senior team.

His character has always been something that has been highlighted, even throughout his youth career.

He captained France at U16, U18, U19 and U20 level. At U19 level he led his team to the European Championship final and was voted in the Team of the Tournament.

Jacquet’s yet to wear the armband for Rennes but his maturity stands out in the way he dictates and marshals the back-line, often playing as the focal point of a back three, which you don’t normally see with a player of his age. Young centre-backs, tend to play on the right or the left side of a back three, depending on which foot they are most comfortable with. Playing as the centre-piece of the formation requires a lot more maturity but Jacquet has been trusted to do so frequently this season.

That is something that will have absolutely stood out to Liverpool. It speaks volumes of his ability and character.

His physical traits are unique, too. Jacquet’s an ectomorph with long limbs and extremely long legs. It’s pretty common sense that having long legs for a defender is an advantage. It aids Jacquet in all forms of defending. Whether it’s making key interceptions, stretching his legs out to win the ball, decisive blocks or last-ditch sliding tackles.

Obviously, there are some disadvantages to this body type as well. In one vs one situations, he’s got room for development. Sometimes, he needs to move his legs a bit quicker, and smaller, more nimble players can still go round him.

He could also be a bit quicker over long distances but he does have good acceleration in short races, and is relatively explosive.

His other physical trait that is noteworthy is that he’s capable of covering a lot of ground. This is partly enforced because he plays in a badly organised Rennes defence, which mean he constantly has to make recoveries and come across to either side of the defence.

But overall, Jacquet defends the channels really well and his physical profile is one that gives him all the basics to be an elite centre-back.

Elite understanding of the game

Cognitive traits are just as important or if not more important to assess the quality of a player, especially for a centre-back.

Jacquet’s reading of the game is already at a very high level, which is one of the factors as to why he’s been trusted to play as the central centre-back in a back three.

One way to measure this through the numbers is by looking at his interceptions. Virgil van Dijk’s reading of the game is elite and he usually ranks among the best centre-backs in the Premier League for the metric every season.

Right now Jacquet ranks second among Ligue 1 centre-backs for PAdj (possession-adjusted) interceptions (7.57 per 90 minutes).

But by far the best way to judge cognitive abilities is to actually watch him play.

Jacquet has been constantly exposed to challenging environments at Rennes. Their chaotic defensive structure means he’s always having to defend overtime.

In these situations, he keeps his calm and composure and regularly makes important interventions that prevent goals or dangerous scenarios from developing.

Another way his cognitive abilities present themselves is through his aerial duel prowess. Out of centre-backs who have played at least 1200 minutes in Ligue 1 this season, Jacquet has the best aerial duel success rate (69%).

Jacquet is particularly strong inside his own box, regularly heading crosses away and dominating attackers.

His physical traits help him in this area, but a lot of his success and domination is down to his cognitive abilities. From his positioning to his timing and judgement on the flight of the ball and where it will drop, he reads these situations superbly.

As a scout, you’re always looking at centre-backs who are elite in these situations and who rarely let the ball bounce. Some players are just innately better at judging where the ball will drop in comparison to others and Jacquet is one of those.

It’s why you can often have a 6’2 defender win headers over a 6’5 attacker. Or someone like Wataru Endo having a better aerial duel success rate (55%) compared to Ryan Gravenberch (48%) even though the former stands at 1.78 metres and the latter is 1.90 metres tall.

Jacquet has an innate sense of awareness for these situations, which adds to his value as a defender.

Obviously, at Liverpool you don’t just need to defend; you also need to be able to play, progress the ball and be involved in the build-up phase.

Jacquet’s extremely comfortable on the ball. He deals well under pressure, although sometimes attackers can get the better of him if they force him to play with his left-foot. He doesn’t seem as comfortable on the left-side, especially when he needs to execute riskier passes under pressure.

On his right-foot, it’s a different story. For someone with such long legs, he is decent technically and he can comfortably carry the ball as well as play the ball into dangerous areas.

Jacquet ranks fifth among centre-backs in Ligue 1 who average at least 7 progressive passes per 90 for accuracy (76%). It means he has a nice volume but he is also regularly able to find his teammates with his line-breaking passes.

He’s definitely a vertical player, sometimes he can go diagonal as well and will attempt ambitious switches across field. That boldness can be a useful trait, especially when you require your centre-back to do something unexpected against low-blocks.

In terms of his ball carrying ability, he’s not quite at Joel Matip’s level. He does tend to make forward runs and is comfortable carrying at longer distances but he can get caught out, too. He won just 41.67% of his 0.61 dribbles per 90 minutes this season.

Jacquet’s not the finished article in these elements, but it’s also hard to properly judge him. Rennes are a chaotic team. Sometimes, Jacquet has to do a lot more than he should. There are times when he is forced to carry the ball and run into danger because he doesn’t have any other option. Like I mentioned above, at Rennes he’s often being asked to play overtime. In a more organised set-up, he might take less risks and his quality will shine through even more.

But what is the most impressive about Jacquet is just how good his performances have been even while playing in a disorganised team. If you scale that to a better team, you have a formidable player on your hands.

Looking around Europe’s top five leagues, he’s among the best in his age and positional peers. He’s already a superstar for Rennes and in terms of his potential, he can absolutely be among the world’s best in the years to come.

So, it’s fair to say, Liverpool have got themselves a gem.

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