Why Jacquet’s Night With France Should Ease Any Lingering Liverpool Doubts
Every big signing goes through a settling in period, and supporters usually spend that stretch looking for reassurance rather than certainty. Jeremy Jacquet has been giving Liverpool plenty of that lately, and his latest outing on international duty might be the clearest signal yet that the money spent on him this summer was well judged. At just 21, the centre-back played a full part in France’s 1-1 draw with Italy, and the reaction to his performance tells its own story.
Our take on signings like this is usually cautious. A defender arriving for a fee in the region of £60 million carries expectation before he has kicked a ball, and early judgments can swing wildly in either direction after just a handful of games. What stands out with Jacquet, though, is how little drama there has been. He has started six of Liverpool’s seven matches so far, and the calm way he has gone about it suggests a player who already feels at home.
A Legend’s Endorsement Carries Weight
When Zinedine Zidane speaks about a young defender, people listen, and his assessment of Jacquet after the Italy game was about as emphatic as these things get. He repeated himself for effect, calling the performance very good four times over, and praised the willingness to defend aggressively, to step out of the back line without fear and trust his own judgement. That is exactly the profile Liverpool fans will want to hear described in a 21 year old.
Jacquet backed the words up with the numbers. Two interceptions, two clearances and two recoveries, four duels won, and 79 completed passes from 80 attempted. Passing accuracy at that level from a centre-back says as much about composure under pressure as raw numbers from a purely defensive column ever could. He also revealed afterwards that his high positioning was deliberate instruction from his coaching staff rather than individual risk taking, telling reporters he was simply following what he had been asked to do and that he felt no pressure in doing it.
Building Something With Van Dijk
Back at Anfield, the early signs of a partnership with Virgil van Dijk are exactly what Liverpool’s head coach will have hoped for when the deal was struck. One is the organiser, reading danger and marshalling those around him, while the other is increasingly comfortable stepping into gaps, covering ground and carrying the ball forward. That kind of balance usually takes a full season to develop, not seven matches, so its early appearance is a genuinely promising sign.
The timing matters too. Manchester City visit Anfield on October 11, and a test against Erling Haaland is about as searching an examination as English football offers a young centre-back. Strength, positioning and composure will all be interrogated at once. If Jacquet handles that the way he handled Bastoni and company for France, the doubts that inevitably follow any expensive defensive signing will start to fade quickly.
For now, we are entitled to feel encouraged rather than convinced. A player signed for a significant fee looking settled for both club and country within weeks is not something to take for granted, and on the evidence so far, Jacquet looks like he could become far more than just a useful squad addition.