Liverpool's New Rock: Jeremie Jacquet Makes Immediate Impact

Liverpool did not just replace Ibrahima Konate this summer. They may have found an upgrade.

Jeremie Jacquet, the 21-year-old French defender signed from Rennes as the long-term answer to Konate’s departure, has walked into Anfield and immediately looked at home. No easing in, no gentle introduction. He has hit the ground sprinting.

Konate’s exit to Real Madrid on a free transfer left a sizeable hole. He had grown into one of the Premier League’s standout defenders, and the idea of losing him without a fee only sharpened the sense of loss. Liverpool needed someone who could cope with the pressure, the scrutiny, the expectation.

Jacquet has embraced all of it.

Within weeks of his arrival, the local press were already circling his name in bold. Performances of real authority have turned early curiosity into genuine excitement. The tone on Merseyside is clear: this is not just a promising kid, this is a defender ready to shape Liverpool’s next era.

The Liverpool Echo captured the mood after last Saturday’s match against Fulham. In a game where few in red emerged with much credit, Jacquet did. The paper hailed his composed display and described him as one of the rare players who could walk off the Anfield pitch with his head held high.

Then came the line that has set tongues wagging. The Echo highlighted “the most distinctive thing about Jacquet is his calm nerves,” underlining how remarkable it is for a player who only turned 21 this summer to adapt so quickly in a team going through a transitional phase and to compensate for Konate’s loss. The verdict was blunt: he is “much better than Konate was at the same age,” and on current evidence, he “has all the makings of a great player.”

That is not a throwaway comparison on this ground. Konate was loved. Yet Jacquet is already shifting the conversation.

The praise has not been confined to his defensive work either. This is Anfield echoed the admiration, stressing that Jacquet has gone beyond simply doing his job at the back. His attacking contributions have caught the eye, outstripping even what midfielders Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai have recently offered in the final third.

On the ball, he looks like something Liverpool had been missing since Konate left: a defender who can step out, pick a pass, and calm a frantic game with one touch. That composure has changed the rhythm of Liverpool’s build-up play and, crucially, made him indispensable to the starting XI.

Liverpool set out to find a successor. Instead, they might have stumbled onto their new defensive leader.