Liverpool have secured a deal for Rennes centre-back Jérémy Jacquet, though the 20-year-old will not move to the Premier League until the summer. But what will the Reds eventually be getting?
With Conor Bradley, Jeremie Frimpong, Giovanni Leoni and Joe Gomez all out injured, Liverpool are short on defenders.
The Premier League champions are all about long-term planning, though, and despite their apparent immediate need for defensive reinforcements, on deadline day, they have made a big move for a player who won’t be arriving at Anfield until the end of the season.
Rennes centre-back Jérémy Jacquet was reportedly of interest to Chelsea and Bayern Munich, but it is Liverpool where he will be plying his trade from the start of the 2026-27 season, after agreeing join Arne Slot’s side in a deal worth up to £60 million.
The highly-rated centre-back has been compared in France to the likes of William Saliba and Leny Yoro, with Ligue 1 consistently producing some of the best young defenders in the world in recent years in particular.
With Rennes reportedly unwilling to sanction an immediate transfer, Jacquet will join Slot’s squad in June, beefing up their defensive options alongside Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konaté, Gomez and Leoni.
With Konaté’s contract up in the summer and little suggestion that a new one will be signed, there could be a significant opening for Jacquet to step into.
Partly due to the injury issues suffered by Gomez and Leoni this season, Slot has been reliant on Van Dijk and Konaté, with the duo starting together 23 times in the Premier League, at least twice more than any other centre-back partnership in England’s top flight in 2025-26.
That likely would have been a 100% record of 24 games but Konaté was recently absent on compassionate leave following the passing of his father. Gomez started alongside Van Dijk in the 3-2 loss at Bournemouth, and the English defender went off injured in the first half at the Vitality Stadium, with midfielder Wataru Endo replacing him.
Liverpool CB partnerships 2025-26 all comps
Another midfielder, Ryan Gravenberch, started alongside Van Dijk in Wednesday’s 6-0 thrashing of Qarabag in the UEFA Champions League, before Konaté returned for Saturday’s 4-1 win over Newcastle United. Fittingly, the former RB Leipzig man scored his first Premier League goal at Anfield late in the game, leading to an understandably emotional celebration.
There is an obvious need for another centre-back at Liverpool. They were unsuccessful in attempts to sign Marc Guéhi in the summer, but after the England international moved to Manchester City last month, the Merseysiders have opted to go for a younger model. So, why have they decided to spend such a sum on Jacquet?
The 20-year-old has only made 31 senior appearances for Rennes, but has made a big impression.
Jacquet made his Rennes debut as a late sub against Nice in January 2024, before joining Clermont on loan for the remainder of the 2023-24 campaign. He only made six appearances as the club were relegated, but he initially stayed with them for the 2024-25 season, making 17 Ligue 2 appearances.
Only nine defenders in the French second tier won possession more often per 90 minutes (minimum 15 games played), and such was the impact he made at Clermont, Rennes decided to pay almost €1m to end the loan deal early almost a year ago to the day.
He made 11 appearances for his parent club in the second half of last season, and has continued to impress in 2025-26, leading to interest from some of Europe’s biggest clubs.
Jacquet is a front-foot defender with impressive anticipation for a young player. He is very good at getting his foot in and winning the ball, though does go to ground quite often when he challenges an opponent, something he could certainly improve on and could very well do once he is training alongside Van Dijk week in, week out, with the Dutchman an absolute master of the standing challenge.
While Liverpool have had their defensive issues this season, one area they clearly value is being aerially dominant. Van Dijk (77.3%) and Konaté (73.3%) have the best aerial duel success rate of all Premier League players this season (minimum 30 contested).
And despite his young age, Jacquet is already showing he fits that profile. He has won 75.5% of his aerial duels in Ligue 1 this season, the most of any player in the French top flight to contest at least 30.
Jeremy Jacquet aerial duels 2025-26
Indeed, when looking at players to contest at least 45 aerial duels across Europe’s top five leagues this season, only four – including Van Dijk – have won a greater percentage than Jacquet.
75% – The highest aerial duel success rates in Europe’s big five leagues this season (min. 45):
Kike Salas (81.3% – 39/48)
Luka Vuskovic (80% – 92/115)
Lucas Torró (77.3% – 75/97)
Virgil van Dijk (77.3% – 119/154)
Jérémy Jacquet (75.5% – 37/49)
Imposing. pic.twitter.com/SrNY0ZWum3
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 2, 2026
He also has a strong record in duels generally, with the best duel success rate of any player in Ligue 1 this season (67.2% – min. 80 contested).
To play in defence for Liverpool, though, you also need to be comfortable on the ball. Slot’s men have had an average of 61.5% possession in the Premier League this season, more than any other team. Rennes have averaged 51.9% in Ligue 1, the seventh most in the division, so Jacquet will likely see a lot more of the ball in England.
He does seem to be more than fine in possession, though. Only midfielder Valentin Rongier (1,135 – 88.9% accuracy) has attempted more passes than Jacquet (1,043 – 90.5% accuracy) for Rennes in Ligue 1 this season, while none of his teammates have completed as many as his 52 long passes (passes that travel at least 32 metres).
In fact, his long pass success rate of 54.2% is higher than both Van Dijk (50.5%) and Konaté (46.7%) this season, though it should be noted that Van Dijk (198) has attempted more than twice as many as Jacquet (96).
Jeremy Jacquet long pass map 2025-26
As those long passes suggest, Jacquet doesn’t just play it safe. Only seven defenders in Ligue 1 have made more than his 45 progressive passes this season, while only 11 have made more forward passes than his 362.
He has largely played in the middle of a back three this season, but played on the left of a two-man centre-back partnership for much of his time at Clermont, and has played on the right of a back two with Rennes, so he already has decent experience in each centre-back role. He even got some minutes as a right-back last season (13% of his overall minutes for Rennes).
Jeremy Jacquet position mins 2025-26
Jacquet will be spending the rest of the season with Rennes, which does seem like the most sensible decision long term, especially while Liverpool remain in relative transition.
Van Dijk and Konaté have looked vulnerable at times this season, but haven’t been helped by how open the rest of the team has been in a turbulent campaign. Slot will hope to have steadied things by the time Jacquet arrives, and back-to-back big wins at Anfield in the last week against Qarabag and Newcastle will have helped the mood around the club.
Jacquet is highly rated, but he is also comparatively inexperienced. The fact that only seven players have made more errors leading to shots in Ligue 1 this season than his three points to him needing more time to iron out the sort of mistakes young defenders invariably make.
He was also sent off in a 5-0 defeat at Paris Saint-Germain in December for two yellow cards, though prior to that he had played every minute of every league game for Rennes this season, showing how trusted he has been by head coach and former Newcastle and Aston Villa defender Habib Beye.
In a recent interview with L’Équipe, Jacquet was asked about his football idols: “As a defender, I really like Van Dijk, and more recently Konaté,” he said.
Depending on the contract situation of the latter, he could end up playing alongside both of them in a few months’ time. Given time to settle and grow, Jacquet could become an integral part of Liverpool’s team for much of the next decade.
As you can see from our Opta Player Radar comparison below, the Premier League defender Jacquet profiles most closely to this season is none other than Konaté (73%), followed by Bournemouth’s Marcos Senesi (68%), Brighton’s Jan Paul van Hecke (67%) and Nottingham Forest’s Murillo (67%).
Jeremy Jacquet player radar comparison
With Konaté’s future in doubt and Van Dijk turning 35 before the start of next season, Liverpool had to look to the future. In Jacquet and 19-year-old Leoni, the club have procured two of the most promising centre-backs in Europe in the last two transfer windows.
It may be a chilly winter, but Reds fans will have to wait until the summer for their Jacquet. He could well be worth the wait, though.
Ligue 1 Stats Opta
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