Jeremy Jacquet has completed his £60 million move to Liverpool from Rennes, with the 20-year-old officially unveiled after his contract began on July 1.
Liverpool agreed a deal worth an initial £55 million with Rennes in January, but Jacquet’s switch to Anfield was delayed until the end of the season.
An unfortunate shoulder injury ruled him out of the remainder of the campaign with the French club soon after, but he has now recovered ahead of pre-season with Liverpool.
With July 1 marking the start of his contract, the young centre-back was unveiled on Wednesday morning.
His squad number is as yet unconfirmed, though he could be expected to take the No. 5 vacated by Ibrahima Konate upon his free transfer to Real Madrid.
Liverpool negotiated a further £5 million in add-ons with Rennes which could bring the deal to a total of £60 million if various targets are met.
It makes Jacquet the eighth-most expensive signing in the club’s history and positions him as immediate successor to Konate as Virgil van Dijk‘s first-choice partner.
Jeremy Jacquet’s first words as a Liverpool player: “It’s a big dream”
2WW4J96 Assen, The Netherlands. 20th Mar, 2024. Jeremy Jacquet (6) of France pictured during a soccer game between the national under 19 teams of France and Belgium on matchday 1 in group 2 of the UEFA Under-19 Elite round on Wednesday 20 March 2024 in Assen, The Netherlands . (Photo by David Catry/Sportpix/Sipa USA) Credit: Sipa US/Alamy Live News
Speaking to LFCTV upon the completion of his move to Liverpool, Jacquet said: “Of course, I am very excited to be next to a great player like [Van Dijk].
“I think he is up there with the best centre-backs in the world currently, so I can only learn from him.
“I don’t like to use the word ‘idol’, not even for the best players I admire, but naturally he’s a player I look up to.
“For me, he is one of the best central defenders, and if I want to reach the very top, I’ve got to absorb as much as I can from him, obviously.”
Though Jacquet conducted the majority of his interview in his native French, he added in English: “I’m very excited [to join Liverpool].
“For me it’s a big dream, it’s a big club. A club like Liverpool, it’s a big dream for me.”
Jacquet is one of three players to have already joined Liverpool this summer, with Spanish winger Victor Munoz arriving from Osasuna for £34.5 million and £2.6 million academy defender Ifeanyi Ndukwe joining from Austria Vienna.