Why Liverpool are ready to put their faith in the 'real deal' Jacquet
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Latest Sky Sports deals or stream PL games with no contract📺And with 19-year-old Leoni, brought in from Parma last summer as Liverpool's owners Fenway Sports Group looked to bring down the average age of the first-team squad, still recovering from the ACL he cruelly sustained on his Reds bow in September, Jacquet's own debut has now been fast-tracked. "He was playing for Rennes, but it shows you just how much they rated him that they really didn't want to let him go in this [January] window."His coach Habib Beye said, 'If we let him go this season, we'll have to downgrade our goals for the season'."Liverpool's original plan was for Jacquet to learn from his idol Van Dijk - "If I want to go as high as possible, I must immerse myself in him and others" - while gradually being introduced to the starting line-up.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Andoni Iraola wants Liverpool to play differently to last season under Arne Slot, saying that after reviewing last year's campaign, he is focused on building strong relationships with his players. Image: Jeremy Jacquet was one of Europe's most in-demand young centre backs before being bought by Liverpool from Rennes Jacquet is a ball-playing defender who began his career as a midfielder, modelling his game on Paul Pogba."I wanted to play like him," he recalls, only for Rennes' scouts to see a different future for the youngster and convince a reluctant Jacquet that his path lay in defence.
As Hatchard summarised, he is "a rising star who is good on the ball, with a good passing range, athletic and great in the air." Someone who has followed much of Jacquet's, albeit still fledgling, career to date is French football expert Julien Laurens, who is convinced Liverpool have made the right call with this signing."He's the real deal," he told Sky Sports News. "I know he's only 21, he hasn't played for France and he hasn't played in the Champions League or Europa League."He still has a long way to go, but he's been impressive since last season, when Rennes recalled him from his loan spell in the second division, and he has continued that progress this season under [manager] Habib Beye.