Every January throws up a new centre-back link, and this one is Jeremy Jacquet from Rennes. Truth is, plenty of us have watched next to nothing of Ligue 1 week to week, so it’s hard to pretend we’ve got strong views on whether he’s the answer.
But the broader question behind it is the important one: are Liverpool going to go into the second half of the season still gambling a bit too much on availability at centre-half?
It’s not panic, it’s numbers
This doesn’t need to be framed as a meltdown. It’s just basic squad maths. Centre-back is one of those positions where you can feel fine until you suddenly don’t, because injuries there don’t just weaken you, they force you to change the whole shape of the side.
We’re already not swimming in options, and that’s before you even get into who’s actually fit and ready at any given moment. When you’re asking full-backs to tuck in, or midfielders to plug gaps, you’re not just patching a hole. You’re shifting your entire balance.
Van Dijk can’t be asked to carry it forever
Virgil van Dijk is still the reference point. The leader, the organiser, the one who makes the chaos look manageable. But he’s approaching 35. That doesn’t mean he’s finished, far from it, but it does mean the club have to think beyond “he’ll sort it out again”.
And then you’ve got the reality that Joe Gomez and Ibrahima Konate have both had injury concerns in the recent past. When your depth relies on everyone being fit at once, it’s not really depth.
Recruitment has to be about the next two years
Even if you’re optimistic about the longer-term pieces, you still need protection for the here and now. The hope is Leoni comes back strongly from an ACL injury and becomes a proper fixture. The hope is also that Marc Guehi arrives, whether that’s in January or the summer.
But even with those two additions, there’s a bigger point staring us in the face: Van Dijk and Konate might not both be at the club in a year or two. Contracts, form, interest from elsewhere, plans changing, it all happens quickly in football.
So whether the answer is Jacquet or someone completely different, I just want Liverpool to act like they can see the junction coming. Don’t wait until we’re already in a bad situation, then scramble. Sort it early, and give Arne Slot a squad that doesn’t feel like it’s one twist away from a reshuffle.
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