It’s a summer of big-name, era-ending Liverpool departures, but planning for the future began at the start of February, when young centre-back Jeremy Jacquet (£5.0m) agreed a summer move from Rennes.
Costing an initial £55m, add-ons could take the Frenchman’s fee to £60m.
So, can the soon-to-be 21-year-old establish himself in Andoni Iraola’s lineup, and what impact will he have in Fantasy Premier League (FPL)?
We’ll attempt to answer those questions below.
THE HISTORY
Born in Bondy – the same part of Paris where Kylian Mbappe and William Saliba were raised – Jacquet may be low on senior appearances, but the Reds fought off strong competition to secure his signature.
| SEASON | TEAM | DIVISION | STARTS (SUBS) | GOALS | ASSISTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 | Rennes | Ligue 1 | 19 (0) | 0 | 0 |
| 2024/25 | Rennes | Ligue 1 | 11 (0) | 0 | 1 |
| 2024/25 | Clermont Foot (loan) | Ligue 2 | 16 (1) | 2 | 1 |
After rising through the Rennes B team, he made his first-team debut in January 2024 in a cameo against Nice. It preceded a loan spell at Clermont Foot, which was extended post-relegation for 2024/25.
However, Rennes chose to pay almost €1m for an early February recall and promoted him straight to their starting XI.
Jacquet is the Brittany club’s latest superstar academy graduate, following the likes of Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue, Eduardo Camavinga, Mathys Tel and Adrien Truffert. They’ve also developed Jeremy Doku, Raphinha and Ismaila Sarr, boasting a brilliant eye for identifying talent.
So much money has been made from high-profile sales that Rennes were in no rush to sell Jacquet, insisting to Liverpool that they’d keep him for the rest of 2025/26. Typically, days after the transfer announcement, the defender picked up a season-ending shoulder injury that required surgery.
Of Guadeloupean descent, Jacquet is destined to instead become a France international. Named in the Team of the Tournament for 2024’s European U19 Championship, his 86th-minute penalty (!) against Turkey helped Les Bleuets reach the final. Since then, he’s picked up several U21 caps.
PLAYING STYLE
Superb in the air, this 6’2″ presence accelerates well, while also being comfortable on the ball. Such composure sees him regularly execute long passes to the flanks.
“I’m calm on the ball, maybe I can look a bit nonchalant – but I’m focused. What defines me is playing out well, breaking lines with the right pass.” – Jeremy Jacquet, speaking to L’Equipe
Naturally, for someone so young, there are a few things he can improve on, such as positioning, reading the games and decision-making.
But you’d expect these to be ironed out, especially when under the mentorship of Virgil van Dijk (£6.5m). About to turn 35, the plan is for Jacquet to grab the baton once the Dutchman’s contract expires next summer.
“It’s a lot of money, but Jacquet has everything to become one of the best centre-backs in the world in the next few years. He is arguably the best centre-back of his generation.
“He’s quite tall, quick and strong – and he’s a machine when it comes to duels in the air and on the ground. Technically, there is a lot to improve on, but he’s a smart kid and he can get there and become like Virgil van Dijk.” – Julien Laurens, the French football expert + FPL broadcaster
WILL HE START?
He’ll be available for the start of the season under new head coach Iraola, having played a part in the final pre-season friendly.
That’s handy, because Ibrahima Konate’s departure leaves the Reds quite understaffed in this area. Joe Gomez (£5.0m) and teenager Giovanni Leoni (£4.0m) are on the injury list, although Ronald Araujo (£5.5m) has arrived on loan.
Jacquet has been playing in a back three at Rennes, meaning a slight adaptation period might be needed. Then again, he sat in a back four during the Ligue 2 loan.
ANY DEFCON POTENTIAL?
WhoScored said his 1,673 minutes accumulated 153 actions via clearances, blocks, interceptions and tackles. That’s 8.23 per 90.
Looking at the 19 appearances one-by-one – conveniently, this is an exact half-season – Jacquet successfully reached the threshold of 10+ actions on five occasions.
| ‘DefCon actions’ -> | 12 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| How many times? -> | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
That’d be 10 times and 20 points over a full campaign. Ok, but not massively impressive.
IS JACQUET WORTH BUYING IN FPL?
Liverpool had an extremely frustrating backline for FPL managers in 2025/26. They conceded the 13th-most goals (53) and 10th-most big chances (85), yet had the third-lowest expected goals conceded (xGC, 47.43).
However, the arrival of Andoni Iraola – who guided the Cherries to a joint-fourth-league-best 11 clean sheets – cautiously raises hopes.
What’s more, Liverpool have a strong schedule between Gameweeks 1 and 4/5, according to our Fixture Ticker.
Jacquet looks likely to start next to van Dijk in Gameweek 1, boosted further by his lack of World Cup involvement. The question mark is over how fit he is and if he can last 90 minutes early days but, based purely on starting price, potential and early fixtures, Jacquet could become a bargain.
The one downside is his current DefCon potential but given the success of Iraola’s centre-halves at Bournemouth on that front, could Jacquet’s own figures about to be given a shot in the arm?
Indeed, in the final pre-season friendly against Como, he delivered six DefCon in just 45 minutes:
Above image from Sofascore
It might be worth giving him a week or two to make sure he can last beyond 45 minutes (that was his first game in six months), but he could soon become a great value pick.
