- Published
Jeremy Jacquet's choice of song for his Instagram post after Liverpool beat Brighton on Sunday and kept their fourth clean sheet of the season was telling.
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Liverpool → publish → season
"Trust in the process, trust in the plan" were some of the lyrics, accompanying a selection of images from the game.
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some → trust → game
That is very much what the 21-year-old has been doing - and more - since joining Liverpool in a deal worth £60m over the summer.
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old → do → summer
Things could have been very different had Liverpool pressed further with their pursuit of Leny Yoro in 2024.
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Liverpool → press → 2024
Yet in going down that route, they were alerted to another French centre-back in Jacquet, who was playing for Rennes.
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who → go → Rennes
Yoro chose to move to Manchester United from Lille and could well go on to be an elite centre-half but on Sunday afternoon, it was hard not to notice the difference between the pair.
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it → choose → pair
Yoro, 20, made a calamitous error as United lost to Bournemouth while Jacquet put in another assured performance against Brighton.
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Jacquet → make → Brighton
The ease with which he has adapted to playing for Liverpool has been impressive and even surprised senior figures at the club.
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he → adapt → club
Liverpool great Alan Hansen, who watching on at Anfield on Sunday, would surely have taken satisfaction from Jacquet's display.
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who → watch → display
Since arriving at Anfield, Jacquet has started every game in the Premier League and Champions League, playing more minutes (956) than any player at Liverpool bar Alisson (990) this season.
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Jacquet → arrive → Alisson
The transition is even more remarkable considering he spent most of the year recovering from injuries, having sustained a broken shoulder in February followed by a knee problem in the summer.
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he → consider → summer
Jacquet did not play a minute of Liverpool's summer tour to the United States and made his debut in a pre-season friendly against Como, when he scored at Anfield just a week before the Premier League started.
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League → play → Anfield
After the departure of Ibrahima Konate to Real Madrid, Liverpool had a space to fill at centre-back alongside Virgil van Dijk and given the injury struggles of Joe Gomez and Giovanni Leoni, Jacquet got the nod the following weekend at Newcastle.
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Jacquet → have → Newcastle
A trip to St James' Park for a first Premier League experience is quite the task and, despite conceding early on, it was an encouraging display in which Jacquet played more accurate passes and successful final-third passes than any other player in the first half.
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Jacquet → concede → half
Losing to Manchester City and Erling Haaland was a timely reminder of the challenges ahead but, on the whole, he has excelled.
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he → lose → whole
The way in which the Frenchman dealt with Brentford's Igor Thiago a week later was a real standout, while social media compared his short sleeves and gloves look against Brighton to French great Marcel Desailly.
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media → deal → Desailly
Jacquet has four clean sheets in the Premier League, ranks fourth in the top flight when it comes to interceptions (15), fourth in blocks (10) and has made more tackles (19) than any of his Liverpool team-mates.
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it → have → mates
With his stellar start to the campaign, a France call-up was inevitable under Zinedine Zidane and a debut followed for the boy from Bondy - the same area in the Paris suburbs that is home to Kylian Mbappe and William Saliba.
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that → follow → Mbappe
Very, very good," said Zidane, when he was asked about Jacquet's performance against Italy earlier this month.
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he → say → Italy
He wasn't afraid to come out a long way.
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He → come → ?
I said it four times.
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I → say → it
Chelsea's loss is Liverpool's gain
On Wednesday, Liverpool will welcome Xabi Alonso back to Anfield when Chelsea visit in the Carabao Cup.
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Chelsea → welcome → Cup
Jacquet could easily have been wearing blue had Liverpool not accelerated their push for him in January,
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Liverpool → wear → January
Chelsea were keen and Jacquet was rated highly internally at Stamford Bridge but he chose the Reds.
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he → rat → Reds
At the time, the move raised eyebrows, particularly for a player who had only made 36 appearances in France's Ligue 1.
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who → raise → Ligue
Liverpool missed out on Marc Guehi last summer and were having a poor season but Richard Hughes, the former sporting director, was prepared to wait until the summer, with Rennes unwilling to sanction a move in January.
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Rennes → miss → January
On deadline day in January, journalist Julien Laurens, told BBC Sport: "It's a lot of money but Jacquet has everything to become one of the best centre-backs in the world in the next few years.
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Jacquet → tell → years
A few months into the new season, it seems Liverpool have settled on a gem.
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Liverpool → seem → gem
Jacquet is part of a quartet at Anfield, alongside Bradley Barcola, Victor Munoz and Ronald Araujo, taking English lessons and like everything else, he is understood to be taking that in his stride.
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he → take → stride
He lives in Liverpool and spends a lot of his time with fellow youngsters including Rio Ngumoha and Trey Nyoni, and those at the AXA Training Centre say he is mature and confident off the pitch, just like he is on the pitch.
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he → live → pitch
Having two experienced figures in Van Dijk and Araujo either side of him on the field has certainly helped but in the space of a few months, Jacquet has made himself one of the first names on the teamsheet.
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himself → have → teamsheet
He went off early in the first few games as he worked built his fitness up but there are no such concerns any more.
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he → go → fitness
It's getting better every day that we work together.
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we → get → ?
That's what I said from day one.
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I → say → day
It takes games especially but also training sessions and conversations off the pitch," said Van Dijk, 35, who is the only Liverpool defender to ever cost more than Jacquet.
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who → take → Jacquet
"There's good moments and not, but it's how we react and help each other and you can see the partnership coming along.
"
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partnership → be → other
He's doing very well.
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He → do → ?
Let's see where the ceiling will be.
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ceiling → let → ?
I don't think he's there yet so let's keep going."
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's → think → ?
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