Jeremy Jacquet’s early Liverpool performances are quietening the debate over the initial £55m committed in January. His pace, passing and duel numbers, combined with a quickly formed partnership alongside Virgil van Dijk, suggest a defender ready for the step up, according to Sporting Life. According to Anfieldindex.com.
Jacquet’s numbers and Van Dijk partnership quieten doubts over £55m fee
Liverpool’s defensive record makes the broadest case for the signing. They have kept clean sheets in half of their matches to this point, and Sporting Life notes they rank among the division’s strongest sides for expected goals against. Last season they managed only 10 clean sheets across the whole campaign. Clean sheets are never one player’s work, but centre-backs shape control and recovery.
Jacquet’s individual figures support what the eye test suggests. His top speed is close to 35km/h, pointing to recovery power over distance, while his league pass completion is close to 89%. The volume of line-breaking passes and long distribution also indicates that Liverpool trust him to start attacks as well as defend against them.
Without the ball, he has won 70% of ground duels and 74% of aerial contests. That is strong output for any centre-back, and more notable for one adjusting to a new league, new tactical demands and a new defensive partner. Those numbers help explain why Liverpool have looked more secure at the back.
The link with Van Dijk has formed quickly. After the win over Brighton, the Liverpool captain called Jacquet “a fantastic player and he has got so much more to come”. Van Dijk added that the pair still need to learn how the other reacts in certain situations, but said it had gone pretty well so far.
At 21, Jacquet arrived for an initial £55 million with limited senior football behind him in France, which invited scrutiny. Chelsea had been working hard on the deal, with personal terms reportedly advanced, before Liverpool met Rennes’ demands and agreed a structure that kept him in Ligue 1 for the rest of the campaign.
The fee became a talking point around the Premier League because Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak all arrived at Liverpool with strong track records. Jacquet had far less first-team exposure. It remains early in his Anfield career, and defenders tend to be judged over full seasons, yet the opening sample is promising.
