Jeremy Jacquet Has France’s Elite Purring

It takes a lot for two World Cup winners to volunteer praise for a defender who has barely had a handful of senior games under his belt. That is exactly what happened this international break, when Jeremy Jacquet’s performances for France earned him glowing assessments from two players who know precisely what it takes to cut it at the very top of the game.

Jacquet came through the window with his reputation enhanced rather than dented, no small feat for a young centre-back still finding his feet at senior level. A tough assignment against Italy at the Stade de France was exactly the kind of occasion that can expose inexperienced defenders in a hurry. By full time, it had done the opposite, and the reaction back in France was immediate.

What stood out was not simply that Jacquet defended solidly. Plenty of young centre-backs manage that in isolated games. It was how comfortable he looked doing the harder things too, stepping into midfield when the moment allowed, picking a pass under pressure, and resisting the urge to just hoof the ball clear the second danger appeared. That composure on the ball is rare for a player his age, and it is exactly what has got pundits taking notice on both sides of the Channel.

Umtiti Sees a Kindred Spirit

Samuel Umtiti, who won the World Cup with France in 2018 as a ball playing centre-back himself, was full of praise when discussing Jacquet with RMC Sport. Umtiti described Jacquet as a defender who wins his individual battles cleanly while still being willing to break lines with his passing, calling it rare to see a young player so comfortable taking that kind of risk. Coming from someone whose own career was built on exactly that balance between defending and distributing, it is a meaningful endorsement rather than idle praise.

Umtiti went further, suggesting Jacquet looks remarkably well rounded for someone only a couple of caps into his international career. He pointed to the likes of William Saliba and Ibrahima Konate eventually returning to the picture as a sign of how competitive France’s centre-back pool has become, with Jacquet now firmly part of that conversation rather than an outsider looking in from the fringes.

Petit’s Verdict Raises the Stakes Further

If Umtiti’s comments were notable, Emmanuel Petit’s were something else entirely. The 1998 World Cup winner said Jacquet’s form has only confirmed what he believed since the start of the Premier League season, and went as far as suggesting the young Frenchman is the one bringing the best out of Virgil van Dijk, rather than the other way around.

That is a bold claim to make about any young defender partnering one of the finest centre-backs of his generation, but Petit’s reasoning holds up. He pointed to Jacquet’s comfort in one on one duels, his reading of the game, and crucially the understanding he already appears to share with Van Dijk, suggesting the pair already look like a partnership built over years rather than months.

A Partnership With Real Implications

It would be easy to dismiss that kind of comment as hyperbole, but there is substance behind it. Jacquet has slotted in alongside Van Dijk without looking remotely overawed, and if anything appears to thrive on the pace and physicality of Premier League football rather than being bullied by it. Chemistry at centre-back cannot be manufactured overnight. It takes trust, timing and repetition, and by all accounts Jacquet already has more of that than his limited senior minutes would suggest he should.

With questions inevitably starting to swirl around how much longer Van Dijk can continue marshalling Liverpool’s defence, finding a long term partner, or even an eventual successor, matters more than it might have done a year ago. On the early evidence, Liverpool may already have stumbled onto exactly that. Jacquet still has plenty left to prove and the tests will only get tougher from here, but the early signs point to a defender built for the long haul rather than a passing curiosity.