Andoni Iraola forced to make Liverpool decision after surprise transfer completed

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Liverpool open the Premier League season at Newcastle United last month and the debate has started over who will line-up at centre-back Liverpool FC correspondent, Ian Doyle Chief Liverpool FC Correspondent and Mark Jones Liverpool Content Editor - Sport05:00, 02 Jul 2026The latest Liverpool iteration is beginning to take shape. After Victor Munoz became the first new signing under recently-appointed head coach Andoni Iraola, centre-back Jeremy Jacquet officially became a Reds player on Wednesday.A £60million deal for Jacquet had been agreed in January as Liverpool snatched the 20-year-old, regarded as one of France's best young defensive talents, from under the noses of long-time suitors Chelsea.Jacquet will bolster centre-back options that were weakened by Ibrahima Konate failing to sign a new contract and instead joining Real Madrid on a free transfer.With 19-year-old Giovanni Leoni expected to be back fit for pre-season after more than nine months out to join captain Virgil van Dijk and the squad's longest-serving player Joe Gomez, Iraola has four senior options at present going into the new campaign.But which two should start the Premier League opener at Newcastle United on August 23?

Our ECHO writers take a look...Paul GorstLiverpool have accepted that the decision to prioritise younger players with high ceilings comes with a risk that they don't become stars overnight.But the search for young, dynamic centre-backs has been going at pace for a number of years now.From Levi Colwill and Micky van de Ven through to Leny Yoro and Dean Huijsen, the Reds have been sniffing around some of the best emerging centre-halves for quite some time.Last year took them to Parma, where they snared Giovanni Leoni for £27m while a £60m agreement was locked down for Rennes Jeremy Jacquet at the end of January.At a cost of close to £90m, Liverpool believe they have brought into the best young defenders in Italy and France by signing Leoni and Jacquet and they will compete with the long-serving Joe Gomez and legendary captain Virgil van Dijk under Andoni Iraola this coming campaign.It's unclear how far along Leoni is in his recovery from an ACL injury meaning Gomez will contest with Jacquet for place alongside Van Dijk as things stands for that game against Newcastle United in August.At £60m though, Liverpool clearly think highly of Jacquet and the 20-year-old will be given every chance of making good on that promise.With that in mind, expect him to feature prominently in pre-season and starting alongside Van Dijk at St James' Park. It is undoubtedly a baptism of fire but a strong summer can ease concerns that more miles are needed on the young defender's clock.Ian DoyleThe decision of Konate to jump ship for Real Madrid - despite only in April declaring he was staying and Real having informed Liverpool last year they weren't interested in the player - ensures there will be at least one change in the defensive starting line-up next season.Konate had formed a partnership with Van Dijk that helped Liverpool win the title in 2025 and reach the Champions League final in 2022.Of course, Gomez was a key figure alongside Van Dijk for a large part of the championship-winning campaign in 2020.And with the Dutchman almost certain to be one of the starting centre-backs for the opening of the new term, Gomez would be the most experienced and safest option to partner the captain.Liverpool, though, are looking to the future, having spent £60m on Jacquet and almost £30m last summer on Leoni.

Neither has kicked a ball in the Premier League and will be using pre-season to sharpen up after their respective lengthy injury absences.It could well be the summer months act as a shoot-out between the young duo to decide who lines up with Van Dijk at Newcastle. But while his head start of a year working at the club means it wouldn't be a surprise if Leoni was given the nod, the Reds didn't spend so big on Jacquet to keep him on the bench.Mark JonesIn Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni Liverpool have a couple of young centre-backs whose talents add up to around £86m - and only 122 senior games.In Leoni's case the opportunity to add to that number was of course cruelly taken away last September, and it is that anterior cruciate ligament injury which the Reds are going to have manage carefully this pre-season and beyond.Jacquet has also been recovering from his own injury, the shoulder problem that ended his season in February and required surgery, but as he said at his Liverpool unveiling on Wednesday he is fully over that now and raring to go once pre-season starts.That boost, plus the potential £60m fee that has been put down for his services - services that were acquired ahead of several other big clubs including Chelsea - mean that the Frenchman will perhaps see himself ahead of the Italian and Joe Gomez in the pecking order to start alongside Virgil van Dijk at Newcastle at the end of next month, and he might just be meeting the right manager at the right time.In the likes of Dean Huijsen and Iliya Zabarnyi at Bournemouth, Andoni Iraola has shown that he isn't afraid to trust in youth in the centre of his defence, and so that is why he would appear to have no qualms about going into the season with Jacquet and Leoni set to play such prominent roles.A bit more experienced backup would be welcomed, but for now the shirt and the stage seem to belong to Jacquet.FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FC FACEBOOK PAGE!