'Strong and smart' - have Liverpool signed 'next Van Dijk' in Jacquet?

Jeremy Jacquet will join Liverpool from Rennes in the summer

Liverpool have finalised a deal for Jeremy Jacquet in a deal worth up to £60m - but the defender will not move to Anfield until the summer.

It would not be an understatement to say he was a name most people were unaware of at the start of the winter window.

To commit up to £60m - £55m up front before a potential £5m in add ons - for a 20-year-old is a hefty call but Liverpool view the French centre-back as a long-term investment and someone who will form an integral part of their backline for years to come.

Given the club's defensive problems this season - they have conceded 33 goals from 24 Premier League games - and their ongoing injury crisis, it is also telling Arne Slot's side are prepared to wait until the summer for Jacquet, who will join from Ligue 1 Rennes.

The question of whether they could have got him now has a simple answer - Rennes are simply unwilling to sanction a move until the summer.

The French side are not in a rush for the money and adamant any fee for Jacquet would have to surpass their previous club record sale of £55.4m when Manchester City signed Jeremy Doku from them in 2023.

Meanwhile, Liverpool are happy to wait, signing the player on a five-year contract until 2031, with the option for a further year.

They see Jacquet as a young defender with plenty of senior experience for his age and their data analysis has backed the decision to spend so much on a player they believe has immense potential.

"It's a lot of money but Jacquet has everything to become one of the best centre-backs in the world in the next few years," says French football expert Julien Laurens. "He is arguably the best centre-back of his generation.

"He's quite tall, quick and strong - and he's a machine when it comes to duels in the air and on the ground. He reads the game well and is good on the ball.

"He's not a proper ball-playing centre-back yet. Technically, there is a lot to improve on, but he's a smart kid and he can get there and become like a Virgil van Dijk."

At Rennes, Jacquet has primarily played in a back three this season. When he was 18, he wanted more game time so they loaned him out to Clermont in Ligue 2 but he was was only there for half a season before he was recalled in January 2025, and made a total of 36 Ligue 1 appearances.

His strength in the air has been a standout this season, winning 75.51% of his aerial duels - the highest among Ligue 1 defenders in 2025–26.