
Jeremy Jacquet made his France debut against Belgium on Monday night, and the Liverpool centre-back performed like he's been playing top-level international football for years.
Jacquet officially joined Liverpool from Rennes for £55million in the summer, and his excellent start to the campaign under Andoni Iraola earned him a call-up to Zinedine Zidane's France squad.
The 21-year-old has flourished alongside Virgil van Dijk in the Reds' opening five Premier League games, and when selected by Zidane on Monday night, the youngster proved why he was deserving of a start.
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Liverpool fans want Jeremy Jacquet to play in midfield after France debut
Although Michael Olise's incredible 88th-minute solo goal wrapped up a 1-0 victory over Belgium in the Nations League, Jacquet's performance alongside Chelsea's Maxence Lacroix went viral.
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The Frenchman produced a confident and assured display beyond his years at the Stade Roi Baudouin, impressing with his line-splitting passes and monstrous physical attributes.
In fact, Jacquet completed 67 of his 73 passes accurately (92%), and made 27 carries while winning five of his eight ground duels and making four recoveries.
Liverpool's No. 5 has showcased similar attributes during the early stages of his career at Anfield, but even fans were quick to point out how comfortable he was at driving out of defence with the ball and making purposeful forward passes to get his team on the attack.
"Jeremy Jacquet has such a high technical level, he could even play in the no.6ā¦" one fan account wrote in response to a clip of his performance that went viral, suggesting Iraola should use him in midfield.
Another agreed with that statement, writing: "Call me crazy but Jeremy Jacquet can play as a DM."
"Whoever it was who converted Jeremy Jacquet into a CB has got blood on his hands. It's not too late to take him to Midfield," a third suggested before stating: "This guy has got the potential to be the best 6 in the world for the next 10 years. He's just only 21, so that can still be corrected."
Jacquet was signed as Van Dijk's long-term successor, but he's already established himself as a regular in Iraola's starting lineup, and now it appears he could do the same with France.
Reports in France suggest that the 2005-born defender could replace former Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate and become Dayot Upamecano's defensive partner.
Les Bleus host Italy in another Nations League clash on October 2, and Zidane would be a brave man to drop Jacquet after his top-drawer display against Belgium.
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Could Jeremy Jacquet actually play in midfield for Liverpool?
Central midfield is one of Iraola's biggest headaches at Liverpool, and clearly some fans think deploying Jacquet in a deep-lying playmaker role is the correct solution.
But the question on everyone's minds is: where would he fit into the starting lineup as a midfielder?
Well, the Frenchman could slot into the number six role alongside either Ryan Gravenberch or Alex Mac Allister, allowing Dominik Szoboszlai to play in the number 10 role.
That presents a problem in itself, though, as it would mean dropping Florian Wirtz to the bench or playing him on the left wing. That said, his inconsistent performances arguably warrant him being dropped.
A move for Jacquet from central defence could also disrupt his blossoming partnership with Van Dijk and force Iraola to use either Joe Gomez or Ronald Araujo in central defence instead.
Realistically, it seems unlikely that Iraola would utilise the talented centre-back in midfield, though it is a valid option.
Topics:Ā Premier League, Liverpool