Many don’t know him and yet he will become the biggest transfer of the winter. Young central defender from Stade Rennais, Jérémy Jacquet (20 years old) will sign with Liverpool this Monday for a sum probably greater than 70 million euros. A record amount for the Breton club, whose two best sales until then remained those of Désiré Doué at PSG (50 million euros) and Jérémy Doku at Manchester City (60 million euros).
Astronomical, the transfer price necessarily raises questions given the inexperience of Rennais, who only appeared 31 times in the jersey of his training club in official competition. Recalled in disaster from his loan to Clermont, in Ligue 2, in February 2025, to help turn around a club stuck in the soft underbelly of the elite, Jacquet experienced a meteoric rise under the orders of Habib Beye. Immediately becoming indisputable, the Breton crack quickly made his way among the most promising defenders in the championship.
In the tradition of Konaté, Saliba and Upamecano
“On a technical level, he is a modern central defender who has great recovery qualities, capable of breaking the lines quite easily,” analyzes Guillaume Testu, former physical trainer at Stade Rennais, not stingy with compliments when detailing the qualities of his former foal. “He has great confidence in his game, so I’m not surprised that a big club, usually in possession, was seduced by a defender like him. »
Having moved in one year from Ligue 2 to the Premier League – which he will only discover next season – via the French youth team, Jacquet is in line with the French central defenders perfectly adapted to the constraints of modern football. “He has great athletic qualities and anticipation,” continues Guillaume Testu. “He manages to manage the spaces behind his back well. In a team that has the ball and plays most of the time in the opposing camp, this is essential. He has good heading, good vision of the game, he performs well in aerial duels, with good tactical reading. He can repeat races at very high intensity. »
Strong points strongly reminiscent of those of Ibrahima Konaté, William Saliba or Dayot Upamecano, flagships of the French team at the central defender position.
“He still needs to solidify his body”
But the native of Bondy (Seine-Saint-Denis) still has significant room for improvement, partly on a physical level. Arriving in the Rennes nursery in 2019, at the age of 14, the talented right-hander struggled to establish himself, hampered by numerous problems and in particular a long knee injury which kept him away from the field for more than a year.
“On a physical level, he still needs to solidify his body but he is working well on it,” reveals his former mentor. “He will have to gain power and mass to resist the duels of the Premier League but he is a great worker, who knows where he wants to go. What makes him strong is his self-confidence. »
A champion’s mentality that has stuck to the skin of the Reds’ new talent since his youngest years. Part of the Rennes group having reached the semi-finals of the Gambardella Cup in 2022-2023, Jacquet has always been considered a leader with an assertive personality. “In the summer of 2024, during prep and when he was not necessarily in the plans for the season, he was already telling me that he had the qualities to play at the highest level,” remembers Guillaume Testu.
“He has a very strong mind. Even in more complicated times, he knows that things will turn out in the end. He hates losing. When I had him in individual sessions, I always tried to challenge him and when he lost he wasn’t happy. He is a very promising player who will continue to develop in the future. »
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