Jeremy Jacquet has leapfrogged Ibrahima Konate and become the new star of France in just two games
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Liverpool fans already knew they had a potential superstar on their hands in Jeremy Jacquet after the 21-year-old made an abnormally composed start to his career with the Reds.But having more than earned his first ever call-up to the France national team, he has proven it beyond any reasonable doubt during the international break.Jacquet has been praised by Zinedine Zidane after another composed outing against Italy on Friday, and when put together with his debut performance during the 1-0 win over Belgium last Monday, it is clear that the youngster has now overtaken former Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konate in the pecking order. Liverpool DP Jacquet was almost perfect against BelgiumGiven he directly replaced him in the Liverpool squad and even took his old shirt number, it is impossible not to compare Jacquet against Konate.
It would have been fascinating to see who Zidane would have picked had the former Red been fit to play for France this international window, but after Konate withdrew, his future participation has surely been thrown into doubt.The 27-year-old was already behind Dayot Upamecano, William Saliba and Maxence Lacroix in the running, and Jacquet’s emergence has likely pushed him out of that top four. For Konate, he must have watched his Liverpool replacement’s display with a growing sense of dread that his place in the France squad is in danger.Jacquet follows up with Italy masterclassIf Jacquet was good against Belgium, then he was even better when France faced Italy in Paris on Friday night.
All in all, it was about the perfect follow-up to his outing against Belgium.France still have one more match to play before Jacquet heads back to Liverpool, which comes in the shape of another clash with the Belgians on Monday. Konate could never quite break into the full-time France XI during his time at Anfield, but in Jacquet, Liverpool and Les Bleus look like they have already upgraded.