More than six months after his transfer to Liverpool was agreed, Reds fans finally got to see Jeremy Jacquet in action for his new club on Sunday, and it was worth every bit of the wait.
Having missed most of pre-season due to a minor injury, the 21-year-old made his unofficial LFC debut in the friendly against Como at Anfield, starting alongside Virgil van Dijk at the heart of defence.
Shortly before half-time, the Frenchman doubled our lead with a tap-in from Cody Gakpo’s low cross, by which stage his name had already been sung in appreciation by Kopites who immediately warmed to him.
(Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images)
What media said about Jacquet after first Liverpool game
Jacquet’s performance came in for widespread praise among media covering the Liverpool match at Anfield.
Lewis Steele posted on X: ‘Never overreact either way based on pre-season performances but Jeremy Jacquet looked so assured there, on and off the ball. If he can keep fit, he can have a huge season as Virgil van Dijk’s partner.’
The Athletic‘s Gregg Evans wrote: ‘Jacquet stood tall in his first game and showed those watching why Liverpool were so keen to acquire his services. The 21-year-old impressed from the first minute with his composure on the ball, his ability to wriggle out of tight spaces, and his blistering recovery speed.
‘After missing most of the summer with a minor knee injury sustained while he was recovering from a shoulder injury, it wouldn’t have been a surprise if he was a little rusty…Instead, he marshalled the defence alongside Virgil van Dijk without ever looking flustered.’
The Liverpool Echo‘s Ian Doyle wrote of how Jacquet ‘has already become a crowd favourite’, with his colleague Paul Gorst stating: ‘It is early days and the ferocity of the Premier League will provide a more accurate barometer as to his true level at this stage of his young career, but Jacquet put in a performance that demanded the shirt for Newcastle next week.’
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A very impressive starting point for Jacquet at Liverpool
As Steele caveated, forming definitive judgements off the back of half of one pre-season game (Jacquet was substituted for fellow debutant Ronald Araujo at half-time) is inadvisable, but the 21-year-old could hardly have had a better first outing in a Liverpool shirt.
Aside from his goal, he was committed in the tackle, showed impressive recovery speed when needed, reads the game excellently and is assured in possession, and his performance figures from the first half (via Sofascore) make for pleasant reading.
There are still a couple of aspects in which the youngster can improve – he can occasionally be caught out of position if the ball is turned over, and his tendency to go to ground in the penalty area could be troublesome when facing pacy attackers.
On the whole, though, Jacquet put in the kind of performance which showed just why Liverpool paid an initial £55m for him, potentially rising to £60m (The Times).
He’ll ultimately be judged on his ability to produce such levels consistently throughout this time at Anfield, but as a starting point, what we saw on Sunday evening was hugely encouraging.