Prior to today, the list of centre-backs signed by Liverpool to have cost over £50million stood at one. The Reds had parted with such a fee for a defender on just one occasion and if you asked anyone, they would say it was money well spent.
The reigning Premier League champions parted with a then club record fee of £75million to pry Virgil van Dijk away from Southampton during the January transfer window of 2018. He’s arguably been the best centre-back in the world for the best part of a decade now.
If the Reds could do it again, they’d do it without hesitation.
And this might be what they’ve done with the member list for the exclusive ‘Defenders signed for over £50million club’ at Anfield now standing at two following the signing of Jeremy Jacquet from Rennes.
The 20-year-old arrives in the summer after Liverpool struck a deal with the Ligue 1 side that sees them paying an initial £55million with a further £5million to be paid in potential add-ons. It is a club record sale for the Brittany-based club, surpassing the fee they received from Manchester City when they sold Jeremy Doku in 2023.
Jacquet had been tipped to join Chelsea with the Blues pushing hard for him all summer. Just a couple of days ago, Sky Sports journalist Kaveh Solhekol even went as far as claiming the centre-back only wanted to join the Club World Cup champions.
In a post on X, he said: “Jeremy Jacquet only wants to sign for Chelsea. Personal terms have been fully agreed. Both Chelsea and Rennes are playing on Saturday evening. Expect developments after the games.”
Jeremy Jacquet only wants to sign for Chelsea. Personal terms have been fully agreed. Both Chelsea and Rennes are playing on Saturday evening. Expect developments after the games.
— Kaveh Solhekol (@SkyKaveh) January 30, 2026
On Sunday evening, however, Fabrizio Romano revealed Liverpool had struck a deal with Rennes and Jacquet completed the move on deadline day.
Other reports emerged claiming Manchester United tried and failed to hijack the deal while Arsenal failed in a bid to sign the highly-rated youngster in the summer prior to turning to Cristhian Mosquera.
To say Jacquet was a man in demand would be an understatement.
Liverpool, having failed in attempts to sign Leny Yoro and Dean Huijsen over the last 18 months, now have a second defensive wonderkid added to their ranks following the summer arrival of Giovanni Leoni.
Their new centre-back pairing cost the club a combined £81million. If they develop as expected though, they could form the backbone of this team for the next decade.
But why exactly have the Reds decided to spend up to £60million on a player yet to make 30 Ligue 1 appearances for Rennes?
Jacquet, simply put, is a unicorn. Few centre-backs in world football have a profile similar to his.
We have reached an agreement for the transfer of Jeremy Jacquet from Stade Rennais, with the defender set to join the club ahead of the 2026-27 season, subject to a work permit and international clearance 🙌🔴
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) February 2, 2026
The 20-year-old is a behemoth in the air, winning 76% of his aerial duels. That puts him in the same sphere as Van Dijk (77%) and Ibrahima Konaté (73%). In fact, across the whole of Europe’s top five leagues, across players with a minimum of 45 minutes, Jacquet ranks fifth for aerial duel success. Van Dijk is fourth.
During their peak years under Jurgen Klopp, the Reds seemed to load their backline up with players who dominated aerially.
Joel Matip, at one stage, had a success rate north of 80%. You had Dejan Lovren coming in at 69%. The weakest player in that area was Joe Gomez and he was posting averages that would see him be one of the more dominant centre-backs for most Premier League defensive pairings.
The signing of Jacquet points to those in charge of recruitment realising that aerial control is still just as important. Though the Rennes man will have to scale his numbers if he’s to thrive in the Premier League.
At the moment, he’s involved in fewer than three aerial duels per 90. By comparison, Van Dijk is involved in over six.
Unlike others who excel in the air, Jacquet isn’t bad on the ground. In possession, he’s progressive, without the ball, he’s aggressive. He can play the ball short and also ping passes around in a very Van Dijk-Esque manner.
The Rennes No97 is used to seeing a lot of the ball, averaging 60 passes per 90, while finding a teammate with 90% of these attempts. He’ll be important in a team that dominates the ball and Liverpool do just that, averaging the most possession in the Premier League this term.
It shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that Jacquet has a number of Van Dijk traits to his game, he admitted in an interview that he’s a fan of the Liverpool skipper.
"As a defender, I really like (Virgil) Van Dijk, and more recently (Ibrahima) Konate," Jacquet told L’Equipe.
Jacquet can win a duel, pick a pass and beat most players in a sprint. He’s ticking boxes galore for a modern-day centre-back and it’s why he topped Liverpool’s wishlist.
In a piece for The Athletic, David Ornstein revealed just how highly-rated Jacquet is, saying: “Liverpool view Jacquet as being a more valuable long-term acquisition than Guehi in their model, hence the push to sign the France youth international. The club are trying to build a team for the next generation, following the summer signings of Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez, and Alexander Isak, and Jacquet is considered a big piece in this.”
If Jacquet develops as expected, Liverpool might have their Van Dijk heir.
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