Liverpool supporters travelling to the United States for the summer schedule arrived hoping to catch a first glimpse of the club’s marquee defensive addition.
Liverpool supporters travelling to the United States for the summer schedule arrived hoping to catch a first glimpse of the club’s marquee defensive addition, only to be left waiting a little longer.
Jeremy Jacquet, the £55 million arrival from Rennes, was absent as Andoni Iraola began his tenure with a 4-2 victory over Sunderland in Nashville, and the mood around the back line grew more tense still when Joe Gomez limped off inside the opening ten minutes.
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Word emerged shortly before kick off that Jacquet had picked up a minor issue, ruling the 21 year old out of the contest at GEODIS Park.
It was hardly the introduction Liverpool had envisaged for a player signed to bolster a defence that already looked worryingly light.
With Virgil van Dijk not in the travelling party and Giovanni Leoni still recovering from the ACL rupture he suffered last September, the Reds were left to field a strikingly youthful central pairing of Mor Talla Ndiaye and Ifeanyi Ndukwe for the bulk of the game.
The good news is that Iraola does not expect the Frenchman to be sidelined for long.
Speaking to LFCTV after full time, the head coach explained that the club are deliberately handling their new man with care following his lengthy absence with a shoulder problem last term.
Iraola said, “With Jeremy, we decided to take it easy with him.”
“He has been a lot of months without playing with a shoulder injury.”
“So, I think we are going to take it easy with him.”
“He will play probably the last game of this US tour and he will have time to have minutes.”
“It’s true that we were kind of happy but we’ve lost one now.”
From that update, a reasonable conclusion can be drawn.
Liverpool face Wrexham in New York on 30 July before rounding off their American trip against Leeds in Chicago on 2 August, meaning Jacquet looks set to miss the midweek fixture but should be in contention to make his bow against the newly promoted side.
That would hand him valuable minutes ahead of the Premier League opener, which is exactly what a defender easing back to full sharpness requires.
Iraola will be desperate for no further setbacks.
Gomez, whose injury history at Anfield is well documented, offered no clarity on the severity of his latest problem, and the quick turnaround between friendlies may tempt the manager to err firmly on the side of caution with the 29 year old.
The broader picture remains uncomfortable.
The head coach has already spoken openly about needing greater depth, and the past 24 hours have only sharpened that message.
Jacquet’s return cannot come soon enough, yet the transfer window activity may ultimately prove far more decisive for Liverpool’s defensive fortunes than one debut in Chicago.
Andoni Iraola
Jeremy Jacquet