Liverpool went looking for Leny Yoro.
They ended up finding Jérémy Jacquet.
And according to Paul Joyce, there is a fascinating reason why.
Liverpool were originally gathering information on Yoro when he was still at Lille. He was one of the most exciting young centre-backs in Europe, and Liverpool were seriously interested in bringing him to Anfield.
But during that scouting process, another name kept appearing.
Jérémy Jacquet.
And Liverpool’s recruitment team apparently came away believing something rather interesting:
Jacquet might eventually have an even higher ceiling than Yoro.
That makes the £60 million Liverpool eventually spent on Jacquet look even more fascinating.
Because this wasn’t simply a case of Liverpool missing out on Yoro and moving on to their second choice.
They may have discovered something better.
Jacquet wasn’t as developed as Yoro
The interesting part is that Liverpool didn’t necessarily see Jacquet as being at the same stage as Yoro at the time.
Yoro was already playing regularly for Lille and had established himself as one of Europe’s most exciting young defenders.
Liverpool were genuinely interested in signing him.
They ultimately missed out, with Yoro choosing Manchester United in 2024.
But Liverpool’s work hadn’t been wasted.
Because while they were investigating Yoro, their contacts were telling them about another young French centre-back who they believed could eventually have an even higher ceiling.
That was Jacquet.
And Liverpool kept watching him.
That’s the bit I really like.
They didn’t just think, “We’ve missed Yoro, let’s find somebody else.”
They had already started looking at Jacquet because their recruitment team was constantly searching for elite young centre-backs.
Even if Yoro had chosen Liverpool, Joyce reports that the club would probably still have continued monitoring Jacquet.
That tells you how highly they thought of him.
Liverpool clearly did their homework
When Jacquet eventually arrived at Liverpool from Rennes for a deal worth up to £60 million, there were plenty of people questioning the price.
I understood that.
He had made only 33 senior appearances for Rennes before the move, and Liverpool were paying a huge amount of money for a player who was still developing.
But perhaps we should have trusted the homework a little more.
Liverpool had been tracking Jacquet for years.
They had watched him at youth level for France.
They watched him during his loan spell at Clermont.
They watched him at Rennes.
They looked at how he performed against the best teams in France.
And they obviously kept coming back to the same conclusion:
This boy could become something special.
Liverpool’s own scouting information highlighted his aerial ability, aggression, passing and ability to break lines from defence. He won 75.5 per cent of his aerial duels per 90 in Ligue 1 last season and completed 90.4 per cent of his passes.
Those numbers help explain why the club were prepared to make such a significant investment.
And now we’re seeing why
The best part of this story is that Liverpool’s gamble already looks much less like a gamble.
Jacquet has come into the team and looked remarkably comfortable.
He’s aggressive without looking reckless.
He’s comfortable defending high up the pitch.
He’s willing to step forward with the ball.
And perhaps most importantly, he doesn’t seem intimidated by the level he’s playing at.
That’s something we’ve already seen from him with France.
Zinedine Zidane has praised Jacquet’s bravery and his willingness to step out of the defensive line, while the defender has quickly established himself as an important part of Liverpool’s defence.
For a 21-year-old still relatively new to English football, that’s pretty impressive.
Maybe Yoro helped Liverpool find their man
There’s something quite funny about the way this has worked out.
Liverpool wanted Yoro.
Manchester United got him.
Liverpool then ended up signing the other player who emerged from their work on Yoro.
And now Jacquet is playing for Liverpool while Yoro is at United.
I’m not going to pretend that means Liverpool definitely got the better player.
Yoro is still only 20 and has an enormous amount of potential himself.
But Liverpool apparently believed Jacquet’s ceiling could be even higher.
And watching Jacquet now, I can understand why they were so convinced.
This is what good recruitment should look like
This is probably the biggest thing I take from the story.
Liverpool weren’t simply looking at players based on reputation.
They were looking ahead.
They were trying to identify centre-backs who could become elite players before everyone else had completely caught up.
That’s also why the Jacquet signing made sense alongside the club’s other moves for young defenders.
Giovanni Leoni was another significant investment in a young centre-back, while Liverpool have continued to develop other prospects through the academy and recruitment network.
The club are clearly trying to future-proof the position.
And Jacquet now looks like the biggest part of that plan.
I think Liverpool might have found a gem
I’ll admit, when Liverpool paid around £60 million for Jacquet, I didn’t know what to make of it.
It was a lot of money.
Especially for someone who hadn’t played that many senior games.
But I’m beginning to think Liverpool knew exactly what they were doing.
They didn’t just sign Jacquet because they missed out on Yoro.
They discovered Jacquet while scouting Yoro, then spent another two years making sure they knew exactly what they were getting.
That’s a very different story.
And perhaps the most exciting part is that Liverpool believed Jacquet had a higher ceiling than Yoro even before he arrived at Anfield.
Now we’re getting the first proper glimpse of why.
He’s still only 21.
He’s still learning.
He’s still adapting to the Premier League.
And yet he already looks like he belongs.
If Liverpool’s scouts are right about his long-term potential, we could be watching the beginning of something very special.
Funny how football works.
Liverpool went looking for Leny Yoro.
And they may have found Jérémy Jacquet instead.
By Jamie (The Kopite View)
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