When Liverpool dropped £60m on Jeremy Jacquet late in the summer transfer window, plenty of fans were asking the exact same question: Are we sure about this?
He had just 57 senior games under his belt in France. He was replacing Ibrahima Konate. And he was being thrown straight into the Premier League pressure as a 21-year-old.
Fast forward just a few weeks, and those exact same supporters are asking a completely different question: Could Liverpool have accidentally signed Virgil van Dijk’s ultimate heir earlier than anyone expected?
If you haven’t taken a deep dive into the numbers behind Jacquet’s start at Anfield yet, you’re going to want to read this.
Better than peak Van Dijk? The numbers are off the scale
We all know Virgil van Dijk makes every defender next to him look like a world-beater. But the underlying stats show that Jacquet isn't just riding Virgil’s coattails he's actively outperforming the skipper in key areas.
According to Opta, Jacquet has won a mind-blowing 76.3% of his total duels in the Premier League so far. To put that into context, during Van Dijk’s famous 2018/19 season when he almost won the Ballon d'Or and looked utterly invincible his duel success rate was an identical 76.3%.
Liverpool are on the longest clean sheet streak (3) in the Premier League this season. 🔴🧱 pic.twitter.com/iW9KjWwMLO
— WhoScored (@WhoScored) September 21, 2026
And it gets crazier when you split it down. On the turf, Jacquet leads Liverpool with a 76.3% ground duel win rate compared to Van Dijk’s 74.1%. In the air, where Virgil usually reigns supreme, Jacquet is winning 76.9% of his battles while Van Dijk currently sits at 71.4%.
Whether teams try to put it on his head or beat him for pace Jacquet is literally brick-walling entire opposition attack lines. Three clean sheets in a row to start his top-flight career isn't a fluke it's just standard procedure.
That moment with Virgil at Anfield
If you watched the 1-0 win over Bournemouth last weekend, you already saw him put on a clinical display.
When he was awarded the official Sky Sports Player of the Match award after the final whistle, it was Van Dijk himself who handed him the trophy in a genuine passing-of-the-torch moment.
And the rest of the football world is waking up to it, too. Didier Deschamps has officially called Jacquet up to the senior France national squad for the very first time, meaning he could make his senior debut against Turkey this week.
Look, nobody is saying he’s passed Big Virg’s legacy yet. Van Dijk has trophies, years of dominance, and legendary status locked in.
But for a 21-year-old to walk into Anfield, step into Konate’s shoes, and immediately start putting up prime 2019 Van Dijk numbers? That £60m price tag is starting to look like an absolute steal.
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