Jeremy Jacquet has made a strong start to his Liverpool career and Andoni Iraola has been impressed with the 21-year-old's performances so far, with the Rennes signing nearing full fitness
Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola with Jeremy Jacquet
Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola with Jeremy Jacquet(Image: Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Andoni Iraola believes Jeremy Jacquet is nearing peak fitness after praising the centre-back's outstanding introduction to life at Liverpool.
Jacquet joined Anfield at the beginning of July, having agreed a £60 million ($81 million) transfer from Rennes during the January window, yet missed a considerable portion of pre-season while completing his rehabilitation from shoulder surgery that had cut short his previous campaign in February.
The 21 year old subsequently caught the eye on his Liverpool debut in the final pre-season fixture against Como, and has gone on to feature in the starting line-up for all four competitive matches so far this season.
Jacquet completed his first full 90 minutes in the 2-0 victory at Ipswich Town last Friday, before repeating the feat in the midweek Champions League triumph against Atletico Madrid.
Iraola commented: "I think he had had good performances. He is still building.", reports the Liverpool Echo.
"The first games, he couldn't finish. Against Ipswich, he finished but he was very tired. I was very happy the other night because he finished and he had no issues and was fresh. He finished quite strong.
"He is building his physical condition after a lot of months without playing. He is a player that we knew about his qualities. He is confident on the ball, he is aggressive without the ball.
"He is quick and mentality-wise, you can see he is hungry to win things, to play minutes. Obviously I am very happy with him."
Andoni Iraola has given an injury update on his Liverpool squad.
Andoni Iraola has given an injury update on his Liverpool squad.(Image: Shaun Brooks - CameraSport via Getty Images)
The primary concern for Liverpool centers on the fitness of Cody Gakpo. The Dutch forward sat out the victory over Atlético and will need to pass a late fitness assessment before the Fulham encounter.
"Cody we will see. He didn't train yesterday," Iraola confirmed. "Today we will try with him and let's see if he's ready for tomorrow or we need to wait for the next one."
Bradley Barcola also suffered cramp in the win over Atletico Madrid and it remains to be seen if he will keep his place in the starting line up for the game against Fulham.