Liverpool have reached an agreement worth 55 million pounds (plus 5 million pounds in extra fees) to sign young defender Jeremy Jacquet in the summer of 2026. At the age of 20, he is still in the development stage, but initial signs show that he will become a comprehensive and excellent center-back.
Jacquet's physique is very impressive. He has acceleration ability, agility, stable speed in long periods of time and strong bounce. Gradient Sports recorded his maximum speed of 34.5 km/h in the match against Lille this season, while the win rate in aerial duels reached 75.5%.
Jacquet is also very comfortable when holding the ball, always finding ways to make quick passes through the defense and has a very good ability to pass the ball to the opposite wing.
Born and raised in Paris, Jacquet is one of the best center-backs in Ligue 1 this season, since Rennes called him back from loan at Clermont Foot in Ligue 2. He is part of the talented generation born in 2005 in Rennes, along with Desire Doue (Paris Saint-Germain), Mathys Tel (Tottenham Hotspur) and Jeanuel Belocian (Bayer Leverkusen).
Jacquet has represented France at all ages since the U17 level and Didier Deschamps is also said to be eyeing him for the national team before the 2026 World Cup. Therefore, Liverpool seems to have obtained a precious gem after defeating Chelsea in the race to sign him, although many people may wonder why he did not come this month instead of in the summer.
Location
It is noteworthy that Jacquet's top performances mainly come from a 3-defender formation. And those roles are quite different from playing in a standard two-center-back formation.
However, he has experience playing in a 4-defender system when loaned to Clermont, and for some excellent French youth teams. Therefore, there will not be many obstacles for this center-back.
Strengths
What immediately impresses is that Jacquet looks very suitable for a modern center-back. From physique and technique, there are almost no shortcomings.
His mobility is very good for a 1m88 tall defender. He always controls his movements and speed is very high both in short sprints to regain strength and in longer defensive sprints.
In addition, Jacquet also shows admirable composure in his playing style. He rarely appears hasty and always maintains a confident demeanor - a rare thing not only in a 20-year-old player but also in young defenders in general.
Jacquet is also a center-back ready to clear the ball, paying attention to tackles and handling aerial tackles effectively. He also comfortably rotates the ball in narrow spaces, besides deploying the ball from the back line. These are indispensable skills for center-backs in teams playing ball control.
Although Jacquet's short passes are reliable and effective, it is long passes that are really outstanding. He often performs attacking diversions and sharp passes through the midfield areas, breaking the opponent's defensive structure in just one ball.
Rarely does Jacquet have extra touches that slow down the pace of the match, which makes his passing ability a danger to unbalanced defenses. For a defender at this age, such a decision-making speed is already very high.
