The €70m signing will join Liverpool in the summer with elite backing, Van Dijk comparisons and belief that he can shape an entire generation
Liverpool moved quickly and decisively to secure Jérémy Jacquet from Rennes, and the excitement among supporters reflects how significant the club believes the signing could become.
After beating Chelsea to the 20-year-old’s signature on transfer deadline day, the Reds have positioned the French centre-back as a foundational piece of their defensive future rather than a short-term addition.
Liverpool are approaching a period of transition at the back, with Virgil van Dijk entering the later stages of his career and broader uncertainty looming across the defensive unit.
In Jacquet, the club believe they have secured a player capable of learning alongside their captain before eventually assuming greater responsibility.
Since the deal was confirmed, supporters have been eager to understand exactly what Liverpool are getting. Jacquet arrives from Rennes with a growing reputation in France as one of the most complete young defenders of his age, combining athleticism with comfort on the ball and an advanced understanding of the game.
That profile explains why Chelsea were also keen, and why Liverpool were prepared to invest heavily to secure him.
Much of the excitement centres on the possibility of Jacquet developing alongside Van Dijk. The idea of pairing a proven defensive leader with a rapidly emerging talent has supporters already looking beyond the present season.
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The longer-term hope is that Jacquet can eventually become the organiser, reference point and authority at the back once Van Dijk steps away.
A successor profile already in place
Laurent Viaud, who coached Jacquet at under-19 level and later spent more than four years working as a scout for Liverpool, is convinced the club’s recruitment team saw something very specific in the young defender.
“I think the recruiters have seen in Jerem the heir to Van Dijk because in a lot of areas Jerem looks like him,” Viaud said to Get French Football News. “I would almost say he is faster than Van Dijk. He has to learn from players like Van Dijk, but there is a lot of similarity between the two.”
If that wasn’t high enough praise, Viaud went on to suggest that Jacquet could be a mix of two of France’s greatest ever centre-backs.
“I was from the generation of Marcel Desailly – I was at school with him. Jérém is Desailly on the defensive side and Laurent Blanc on the attacking side; he’s a mix of the two. When you see the careers the two of them had, honestly, I can’t imagine how far Jérém can go. He can really define his generation of defenders.”
Viaud’s assessment goes well beyond surface-level comparisons. Having watched Jacquet develop at close range, he believes the Frenchman possesses both the physical presence and the mental attributes required to lead a defence at the highest level.
For him, the similarities are not just technical, but structural in how Jacquet reads danger and imposes himself on a game.