Difficult Jeremy Jacquet decision threatens start of Liverpool career

Liverpool’s record-breaking January capture of Jeremy Jacquet was supposed to be the smoothest of long-term deals: the 20-year-old French centre-back would finish the campaign with boyhood club Rennes, secure European qualification for the Bretons, then arrive at Anfield in July ready to join Arne Slot’s pre-season and begin a contract that could eventually cost the Reds £62 million. Instead, a dislocated shoulder suffered in early February has pitched the player, his current employers and his future employers into a medical and moral dilemma that could shape the opening chapter of his Premier League career.

Jacquet has not appeared in Ligue 1 since the injury, and with only three months of the domestic season remaining, the choice confronting him is stark: undergo surgery now and almost certainly miss the rest of Rennes’ push for Europe, or delay the operation, gamble on a quick return to help Franck Haise’s side, and risk a recurring problem that would sabotage his integration at Liverpool.

Rennes manager Haise offered little clarity when pressed ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Toulouse. “I don’t know precisely yet,” he told Ouest-France. “Jérémy is receiving treatment, undergoing rehabilitation, he’s working in the gym, that’s where we are at the moment.”

The shoulder, however, is not a new concern. French outlet Ouest-France reports that the joint has troubled Jacquet before and that specialists view surgery as the definitive fix. The same report underlines the catch-22: an operation now would “extremely slim” his chances of playing again in Ligue 1 this season, yet postponing it raises the spectre of repeated dislocations and a compromised pre-season on Merseyside.

Liverpool’s medical and performance staff are understood to want the player fully fit for July, a timeline that would be jeopardised should Jacquet opt to defer surgery until after the Euros with the France U-21 international. Equally, the defender’s emotional attachment to Rennes—where he rose through the academy and is now a first-team regular—adds a layer of loyalty to the equation. “We also know that Jacquet was keen to help his boyhood club on the pitch, to achieve their European objective,” Ouest-France noted, adding that the player “may well be torn between the desire to play again for Rennes and the desire to do everything he can to successfully integrate into Liverpool.”

With Champions League qualification on the line for Rennes and Liverpool expecting a seamless summer unveiling, the next decision Jacquet makes could resonate far beyond the treatment table.