One of the most exciting aspects of pre-season for any supporter is getting that first glimpse of a new signing. However, for Liverpool fans, they are yet to enjoy this sensation. Víctor Muñoz is currently on holiday, having been part of the Spain squad that won the World Cup, albeit the 23 year old did not play a single minute throughout the tournament.
So, those in attendance in the United States, as well as tuning in around the world, were doubly eager to see Jérémy Jacquet when the Reds took on Sunderland in Nashville. However, when the team sheets dropped and hour and a half before kick off, his name was conspicuous by its absence.
Head coach Andoni Iraola later clarified why the 21 year old centre-back was not even on the bench at Geodis Park:
"With Jérémy we decided to take it easy with him. He's had a lot of months without playing and he's been training very well, but we're going to take it easy with him. He will play probably in the last game of this tour and he will have time to have minutes."
Iraola confirmed last weekend that, despite being in full training, Jacquet will also not feature in Wednesday night's pre-season friendly at Yankee Stadium. However, the plan is for him to see some minutes during the final game of the Reds' tour of the U.S. on Sunday, taking on Leeds United at Soldier Field in Chicago.
What injury did Jérémy Jacquet suffer?
Despite being a new signing, Jacquet actually put pen to paper back in January, joining from Stade Rennais for £55 million, plus £5 million in add-ons. He was though immediately loaned back to les Rouge et Noirs, with the idea that this would further his development.
However, a mere five days later, he made his final appearance for Rennes. During a 3-1 Ligue 1 defeat to near neighbours Lens at Stade Bollaert-Delelis on 7 February, Jacquet suffered a shoulder injury after falling awkwardly. Then Rennes managed Habib Beye described it as "definitely quite serious" with the young defender requiring an operation, and that was his season over.
Thus, it is easy to understand why Iraola has chosen to be ultra-cautious with the Frenchman.
Who will start at centre-back for Liverpool vs Wrexham?
In the absence of Jacquet, Iraola has zero senior centre-backs available to him for this clash with Wrexham in the Bronx. Joe Gomez started in Tennessee at the weekend, but had to be replaced after just eight minutes, suffering a serious muscle injury in his leg, which Iraola described as "probably the worst news".
Meantime, Giovanni Leoni is not yet available to feature. The teenager ruptured his Anterior cruciate ligament on debut against Southampton in the Carabao Cup last September, so is edging closer to a return, but is still a few weeks away from doing so.
Lastly, captain Virgil van Dijk has reported to pre-season training this week, but not in America. The 35 year old, alongside Alisson and Cody Gakpo, are doing individual work at AXA Training Centre this week, thereby not available for the matches stateside.
In van Dijk's case, Iraola cited the fact that van Dijk had played more minutes than any other player in Europe last season as the reason for this relaxed approach. This may seem hyperbolic, but is actually true, the defender racking up a ridiculous 4,620 minutes, that's 77 hours, in the last 12 months for club and country. Gakpo, surprisingly, ranked fifth in this list among outfielders.
So, for the clash with Wrexham, as was the case against Sunderland following Gomez's withdrawal, it'll be two teenagers at centre-back, namely Mor Talla Ndiaye and new signing Ifeanyi Ndukwe. Fair to say, they are likely to find 6 ft 5 in target man Kieffer Moore something of a handful.
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