Liverpool Signs Young Defender Jeremy Jacquet for £60m
Liverpool have landed one of Europe’s most coveted young defenders, completing a £60m move for Rennes centre-back Jeremy Jacquet in a transfer that underlines the champions’ determination to refresh their core without losing ambition.
The 20-year-old passed his medical on Deadline Day in February and has signed a five-year contract, with an option for a further year, after choosing Anfield over an identical offer from Chelsea. Liverpool will pay a guaranteed £55m, with a further £5m tied to performance-related add-ons.
For Jacquet, this is not just a step up. It is the step.
“I feel really good, the first impressions are good and I am very happy to start here,” he told Liverpoolfc.com. “When I see the facilities, I can see myself there. I feel good here and I am very excited to get started. For me it's a big dream, it's a big club. A club like Liverpool, it's a big dream for me.”
A statement signing for Liverpool’s next cycle
Liverpool’s recruitment department has been edging younger with each window, and Jacquet fits that blueprint perfectly. The average age of their first-team signings over the last two windows sits below 22; this is not a club dabbling in youth, it is a club building around it.
Jacquet will walk straight into the first-team group as one of the senior centre-back options, joining Virgil van Dijk, Geovanni Leoni and Joe Gomez. That is not a gentle introduction. That is a demand to grow fast, surrounded by leaders and under the glare of a title defence.
The deal also carries a competitive edge. Chelsea matched Liverpool’s financial package, yet the player chose Anfield. In a market where elite prospects can pick and choose their project, that decision matters. It speaks to Liverpool’s pull, their pathway, and the belief that a 20-year-old defender can develop into a mainstay at the heart of their back line.
From Rennes prospect to £60m defender
Jacquet’s rise has been rapid rather than relentless. He is still untested at the very top level. No Champions League minutes. No Europa League minutes. No senior France caps.
What he does have is a growing body of work that has convinced some of the sharpest eyes in European scouting.
French football expert Julien Laurens did not hold back in his assessment.
“He’s the real deal. I know he's only 20, he hasn't played for France and he hasn't played in the Champions League or Europa League,” Laurens said. “He has a long way to go but he's been impressive last season, after they [Rennes] called him back from his loan in the second division, and this season, with Habib Beye.
“You can't get it wrong. He is going to be amazing.
“He reminds me of when William Saliba burst onto the scene in France with Saint-Etienne, or Wesley Fofana.
“It's about how much you value that potential and talent. You would pay a lot of money for someone who hasn't really proved much. It's a lot of money for such a young player.”
That last line hangs over the deal. £60m for a defender who has yet to prove himself in European competition is a bold swing. Liverpool, though, are betting on ceiling, not résumé.
A modern centre-back built for Anfield
The profile is exactly what top clubs crave. Jeremy Jacquet is not just a stopper; he is built for the modern game.
European football expert Kevin Hatchard summed up why the continent’s elite have tracked him for years.
“He's been seen as a rising star for quite some time. He's been a captain at numerous youth groups for France and seen as somebody who has all of the building blocks you need to be a modern centre-back,” Hatchard told Sky Sports News.
“He's good on the ball, good passing range, athletic, great in the air - but he doesn't have a long record of top-level football.
“He had a loan at Clermont that went well. He's been playing for Rennes this season, but it shows you just how much they rate him that they really didn't want to let him go in this window.
“His coach Habib Beye said 'if we let him go this season, we'll have to downgrade our goals for the season'.”
That last remark from Beye cuts through the noise. Rennes did not want to sell. They saw Jacquet as central to their ambitions, not surplus to them. Liverpool have not plucked a bargain from obscurity; they have prised away a cornerstone.
Injury scare, timing and the road ahead
There is one note of caution. Jacquet suffered a shoulder injury earlier this year, the kind of setback that can stall a young defender’s momentum. Liverpool did not blink.
He has completed a rehabilitation programme and is back doing individual fitness work. The expectation is clear: he should be ready for the start of pre-season, fit enough to attack the summer and stake his claim from day one.
Pre-season will be crucial. This is a dressing room that has seen big personalities and big defenders come and go. To join Van Dijk, Leoni and Gomez is to step into a demanding environment where mistakes are punished, but potential is accelerated.
Liverpool have paid heavily for that potential. They have beaten off a heavyweight rival to get him. They have placed a 20-year-old, still learning his craft, at the heart of their long-term defensive plan.
Now comes the only part of the deal that really matters: can Jeremy Jacquet grow quickly enough, and boldly enough, to justify being the next great centre-back at Anfield?
