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Jérémy Jacquet, the 21-year-old French defender Liverpool paid roughly £60 million to acquire from Stade Rennais, has scored on his debut for the club. That alone would be noteworthy. The fact that he did it after spending five months on the sidelines recovering from shoulder surgery makes it the kind of moment that turns transfer gambles into vindication stories.
Liverpool’s summer 2026 signing had been waiting for this. A severe shoulder injury sustained during a Ligue 1 match against Lens back in February 2026 threatened to delay the entire transfer, and it certainly delayed his integration into the squad. But Jacquet, who completed his move and signed a contract through 2031, put the rehab behind him and announced himself in the most emphatic way a centre-back can: by finding the net.
From Rennes to Anfield, the long way around
Jacquet’s path to Liverpool was never going to be straightforward. Born on July 13, 2005, the 6’2″ defender rose through the Rennes academy and made 31 Ligue 1 appearances for the club without scoring. A loan spell at Clermont proved more productive, yielding two goals across 23 appearances and showcasing the attacking instincts that scouts had flagged in his profile.
Liverpool reportedly paid a base fee of £55 million with an additional £5 million in add-ons, making Jacquet one of the more expensive defensive signings in recent Premier League history. For context, that kind of outlay on a player who had never scored in Ligue 1 for his parent club required a certain amount of faith in projection over production.
He’s a France Under-21 international, and the expectation at Anfield was always that he would become a cornerstone of Liverpool’s defensive setup for years to come. Manager Andoni Iraola had hinted during pre-season that Jacquet could feature once fully fit, but the wait stretched deep into the summer.
A debut worth the delay
Jacquet wears Liverpool’s number 5 shirt. Five months without competitive football is a significant absence for any player, but especially for a 21-year-old adjusting to a new country, a new league, and a new tactical system simultaneously.
For Liverpool supporters who watched the transfer saga unfold with a mix of excitement and anxiety over the injury complications, the debut goal functioned as a pressure release valve. The club had committed serious money to a player they couldn’t use immediately, and every week that passed without an appearance amplified the scrutiny on both the player and the decision-makers who sanctioned the deal.
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