Jeremy Jacquet: Why are Liverpool spending £60 million on Rennes’ centre-back?

Given the unforgiving nature of his attitude, it is not surprising that there were some mistakes.

Jacquet made three fouls that led to a shot, and only seven players in the French league have made more fouls.

“I’m calm on the ball, maybe I look a little indifferent – but I’m focused. What sets me apart is playing well, breaking lines with the right pass,” said Jacquet, describing his playing style with L’Equipe across the French League.

He was named in the European Under-19 Championship squad in 2024 and has represented and captained France at youth level. This alone tells you about his leadership qualities.

He was born in Bondy, the Parisian town where Kylian Mbappé and William Saliba come from.

Given the price, there will undoubtedly be a feeling of anticipation when Jacquet arrives. With Italian Giovanni Leoni also returning from an anterior cruciate ligament injury in the summer, Liverpool’s backline could look very different come the start of next season.

Liverpool have kept an eye on Jacquet, who has also been in talks with Chelsea, but their interest accelerated over the weekend with the player setting his heart on a move to Anfield.

The understanding is that Jacquet was convinced by the Liverpool project, unlike Chelsea where the proposal was less attractive, given the presence of two other elite young defenders in the squad, in Josh Acheampong and Mamadou Sarr.

Currently, both Andy Robertson and Ibrahim Konate are out of contract with Liverpool this summer, while the contracts of captain Van Dijk, 34, and Joe Gomez expire in 2027.

The move now was not wise as Jacquet is unlikely to be ahead of Van Dijk and Konate this season. At Rennes, who is gunning for a place in Europe, he will continue as a regular and would benefit from getting more playing time in Ligue 1.

For Jackett, the challenge between now and the summer is to prepare for life in the Premier League. He is by no means a finished product, and Rennes’ 4-0 defeat to Monaco on Saturday showed the margins in which he can improve, especially when it comes to decision-making when out of the back line.

It is worth noting that two of the biggest recent transfers from Ligue 1 to the English Premier League have found it difficult, with Manchester United’s Lenny Euro (£52m) and Manchester City’s Abdulkader Khosanov (£34m) both finding their early assignments difficult.

“It will not be easy to move from the French League to the English Premier League at a club like Liverpool,” Lorenz adds. “It wasn’t easy for Lenny Euro and it wasn’t easy for William Saliba at the beginning either, but Jacquet is very talented.”