Liverpool Sign Young Defender Jeremy Jacquet for £60m
Liverpool have landed one of Europe’s most coveted young defenders, completing a £60m deal for Rennes centre-back Jeremy Jacquet in a move that underlines the champions’ aggressive push towards a younger core.
The 20-year-old passed his medical on Deadline Day in February and has signed a five-year contract, with an option for a further year. Liverpool will pay a guaranteed £55m, with another £5m tied to performance-related add-ons – a heavyweight fee for a player yet to feature in the Champions League or Europa League.
Chelsea matched the offer. Same money, same structure. Jacquet chose Anfield.
A dream move and a clear plan
Jacquet did not hide what this transfer means to him when he spoke to the club’s official channels.
"I feel really good, the first impressions are good and I am very happy to start here," he said. "When I see the facilities, I can see myself there. I feel good here and I am very excited to get started. For me it's a big dream, it's a big club. A club like Liverpool, it's a big dream for me."
Liverpool see him as part of their immediate first-team picture, not a long-term project parked on the fringes. He will join the senior centre-back group alongside Virgil van Dijk, Geovanni Leoni and Joe Gomez, adding fresh legs and high upside to a unit that has quietly aged.
The transfer fits a clear trend. Across the last two windows, Liverpool’s average age for first-team signings has dipped below 22. Jacquet is the latest piece in a squad rebuild that targets emerging elite talent before their value explodes.
Injury concern eased
There is a caveat on his recent past. Jacquet suffered a shoulder injury earlier this year, the sort of setback that can spook clubs when the numbers climb this high.
Liverpool did their homework. The defender has completed a full rehabilitation programme and is already back on individual fitness work. The expectation is that he will report for the start of pre-season ready to integrate, rather than recover.
For a young centre-back crossing the Channel and stepping straight into the spotlight of a title-defending side, that clean bill of health matters as much as any highlight reel.
‘The real deal’
Inside France, the noise around Jacquet has been growing.
French football expert Julien Laurens did not hold back in his assessment.
"He's the real deal," Laurens said. "I know he's only 20, he hasn't played for France and he hasn't played in the Champions League or Europa League. He has a long way to go but he's been impressive last season, after they [Rennes] called him back from his loan in the second division, and this season, with Habib Beye.
"You can't get it wrong. He is going to be amazing.
"He reminds me of when William Saliba burst onto the scene in France with Saint-Etienne, or Wesley Fofana. It's about how much you value that potential and talent. You would pay a lot of money for someone who hasn't really proved much. It's a lot of money for such a young player."
That comparison is telling. Saliba and Fofana both made the leap from promising Ligue 1 prospects to Premier League mainstays, their transfer fees quickly looking like bargains. Liverpool are betting Jacquet follows a similar path, only this time in red.
Rising star, untested stage
The enthusiasm is not confined to France.
European football expert Kevin Hatchard highlighted why so many top clubs tracked Jacquet – and why Liverpool were prepared to go this big, this early.
"He's been seen as a rising star for quite some time," Hatchard said. "He's been a captain at numerous youth groups for France and seen as somebody who has all of the building blocks you need to be a modern centre-back.
"He's good on the ball, good passing range, athletic, great in the air - but he doesn't have a long record of top-level football."
That is the crux of the gamble. The tools are obvious: composure in possession, range of passing, physical presence, aerial dominance. What he lacks is a long catalogue of high-pressure, elite-level matches.
His loan at Clermont was widely viewed as a success, a crucial stepping stone that hardened his game. Rennes then recalled him and, under Habib Beye, he pushed on again this season. The French club’s reluctance to sell underlined his importance.
"It shows you just how much they rate him that they really didn't want to let him go in this window," Hatchard added. "His coach Habib Beye said 'if we let him go this season, we'll have to downgrade our goals for the season'.
When a coach talks about downgrading ambitions if a 20-year-old leaves, you get a sense of the scale of the loss – and the scale of Liverpool’s gain.
The next pillar of Liverpool’s defence?
Liverpool have not just bought a defender. They have bought an idea of what their back line should look like for the next decade.
Van Dijk remains the standard-bearer, the reference point in training and on matchdays. Gomez offers versatility. Leoni brings his own brand of youthful promise. Into that mix steps Jacquet, carrying a £60m price tag, a reputation as a rising star and the expectation that he will grow into the role, not shrink from it.
The Premier League will test every part of his game. So will the weight of that fee, the scrutiny, the comparison to the names he has been likened to.
Liverpool believe he is ready to live with all of it. Now comes the only part of the story that really counts: can Jeremy Jacquet turn potential into dominance at Anfield?
