Liverpool’s new defence looks destined for greatness after Jeremy Jacquet’s promising Giovanni Leoni admission

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Maybe Liverpool would be better off signing two or three €50m players… Photo Credit: Getty Images/Catherine Ivill/AMA Nevertheless, Liverpool have put themselves in the best position possible with the signings of two of European football’s best young centre-backs: Giovanni Leoni and Jeremy Jacquet. Jacquet and Leoni have struck up a friendshipMuch of what makes or breaks a centre-back pairing is how the two players interact off the pitch.

It is no coincidence, for example, that Van Dijk has done brilliant work with Ibrahima Konate, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip, all of whom he was close to in his private life.While Jacquet will hope to add his name to that list over the course of the season, he is also likely to spend plenty of time playing with Leoni before a potential full-time partnership emerges in 2027/28.READ MORE: Liverpool’s top winger target may just have changed after Real Madrid’s bid for Yan DiomandeAnd, as the Frenchman told Liverpoolfc.com ahead of the Reds’ first pre-season match of the summer on Saturday, the two youngsters have built an early understanding.“I’m trying to take the time to get to know everyone,” Jacquet said. Leoni is still working his way back to full fitness, so the partnership cannot grow on the pitch just yet, but if an off the pitch understanding is already there, that should follow.Jacquet can make himself a leader from day oneSaturday will be Liverpool fans’ first chance to see Jacquet in action, and he is likely to start for Andoni Iraola during the clash with Sunderland in Nashville.Leoni will not play, and it will be intriguing to see whether Iraola chooses to pair Jacquet with Gomez, or instead opts for a youngster like Ifeanyi Nudkwe or Mor Talla Ndiaye.Either way, the new signing has a real chance to assert himself as a starter for Iraola right from day one.Some Liverpool fans had been hoping for a second new signing to bulk out the options in defence, but with that looking unlikely to happen, Jacquet has a big chance to cement his position.Leoni will challenge him for that in time, and it seems likely that the Italian will be back available some time over the next month or so.

But after such a serious injury he will need easing in, by which point Jacquet could be a nailed-on starter.What Liverpool can’t do is then allow Leoni to drift too much. The early signs are good that Liverpool can do that and if Jacquet and Leoni can fulfill their respective potentials, greatness can await.