Jeremy Jacquet has given Liverpool a frightening new weapon and an inevitable problem

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Opinions may change come the end of May, but Jeremy Jacquet is the current frontrunner to be Liverpool’s signing of the summer.Frankly, if the Frenchman maintains the level of performance we’ve seen so far in 2026/27, there’s an argument to be made that he should be considered a serious candidate for the Reds’ player of the season.But we’re not even into October yet, so let’s not get ahead of ourselves.76 line-breaking passes, Jeremy? That’s insane!(Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)Jeremy Jacquet has, so far, registered 76 line-breaking passes in the Premier League this season.

Players Line-breaking passes per 90 Line-breaking passes Jan Paul van Hecke 21.2 106 Marc Guehi 20.6 103 Abdukodir Khusanov 18.7 56 Joachim Andersen 17.5 37 Calvin Bassey 17.0 85 Lisandro Martinez 16.5 66 Jeremy Jacquet 16.4 76 Virgil van Dijk 16.2 81 * Jeremy Jacquet’s line-breaking passes in the 2026/27 Premier League season (Fotmob)We are talking about a small sample size here – 450 minutes for Guehi, Van Hecke, Bassey, and Van Dijk, all the way down to Khusanov and Andersen on 269 and 190 minutes respectively – but it’s worth pointing out that Jacquet (417) hasn’t picked up the maximum possible number of minutes this season.Still… not bad going for your first season in English football so far.READ MORE: 75% duels won: ‘Authoritative’ Liverpool beast was simply ‘outstanding’ against BournemouthLiverpool have given themselves a new weapon at the back(Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images)The former Stade Rennais star isn’t limiting himself beyond the borders of Merseyside either.On Monday night, Jeremy Jacquet took the opportunity to impress new France head coach Zinedine Zidane with both hands, posting an impressive display against Belgium in the Nations League.If you’ve got a spare couple of minutes, it’s well worth your time pouring over this highlights reel on X (formerly Twitter), courtesy of Sbzcomps. Jeremy Jacquet starts his mark against Belgium! 🇫🇷👑✨ pic.twitter.com/THseFvtNqk — Jacquetball_ (@jacquetball_) September 29, 2026Now, we’ve not watched the full game back, so, relying on the clip above, that’s roughly 16 line-breaking passes by our count.And these aren’t just lucky ball clearances from a defender being pressed; Jacquet’s first thought, regardless of whether he’s under pressure or has acres of space around him, is to progress the ball as deep into the opposition half as he can manage.It’s, dare we say it, Virgil van Dijk-adjacent.

And we’ve yet to see how our summer signing responds to the adversity of the trough in his development.By all means, let’s enjoy the peaks. Let him make mistakes, let him learn, let him develop.Liverpool’s next move: Secure a top-class replacement for Virgil Van Dijk(Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)Well… duh?The point, regardless of whether Liverpool consider their long-term centre-back partnership to be Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni or another pairing after a transfer window, is that Liverpool cannot saddle their talented Frenchman with a defensive partner who can’t be trusted on the ball.We’ve now seen what life looks like with two centre-backs as comfortable in possession as they are against it.And we’re in absolutely no rush to see the current arrangement regress to what came before.