Iraola Praises Hungry Jacquet as Liverpool's £60m Defender Gains Fitness

Andoni Iraola says Jeremy Jacquet is closing in on peak fitness after an eye-catching start to life at Liverpool.

The 21-year-old centre-back finally walked through the doors at Anfield in July to complete a £60million move from Rennes, a deal agreed back in the January window. His first weeks on Merseyside, though, were spent catching up rather than charging ahead.

Shoulder surgery in February had wrecked the second half of his season in France and cost him a sizeable chunk of Liverpool’s pre-season. The club had invested big money in his potential, but they had to wait to see it.

When Jacquet did emerge, he wasted no time.

He impressed on his first outing in red during the final pre-season friendly against Como, looking assured in possession and sharp in the duels. That performance pushed him straight into the competitive picture and he has since started all four of Liverpool’s games this term.

The workload has ramped up quickly. He completed his first full 90 minutes in the 2-0 win at Ipswich Town last Friday, then backed it up with another full match in the Champions League victory over Atletico Madrid in midweek.

Iraola has watched that progression closely.

“I think he had had good performances. He is still building,” the Liverpool boss said. “The first games, he couldn’t finish. Against Ipswich, he finished but he was very tired. I was very happy the other night because he finished and he had no issues and was fresh. He finished quite strong.

“He is building his physical condition after a lot of months without playing.”

Liverpool always knew what they were paying for. Now the manager is starting to see it consistently on the pitch.

“He is a player that we knew about his qualities. He is confident on the ball, he is aggressive without the ball,” Iraola added. “He is quick and mentality-wise, you can see he is hungry to win things, to play minutes. Obviously I am very happy with him.”

Four games in, Jacquet has his manager’s trust, his fitness is catching up with his talent, and the real question now is how high his ceiling will look once he’s fully up to speed.