Arsenal could be set to bring in a very special talent as they register their interest in Rennes defender Jeremy Jacquet.
According to reports, the Gunners have made initial contact with the Ligue 1 side over the 19-year-old French youth international.
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Jacquet is an option to be brought to the Emirates this summer if any more defensive options depart in the transfer window.
Or he could make a move to the Premier League in 2026, with Arsenal making their interest known ahead of time.
They want to be the first to his signature, after the teenager enjoyed a breakout season for Rennes last term.
Jacquet was sent out on loan to Ligue 2 outfit Clermont and he starred, making 17 appearances and playing 1,460 minutes.
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In fact, he was so good, that his parent club opted to recall him from the loan and throw him into their first team.
The defender then went on to play another 11 games in the French first tier, appearing at centre-back and right-back.
His recent rise stems from his time in an incredible academy set-up at Rennes, where he played alongside multiple stars.
PSG’s Champions League hero Desire Doue was a teammate, along with Tottenham’s Mathys Tel and Chelsea‘s Lesley Ugochukwu.
New Burnley winger Loum Tchaouna and Lens midfielder Andy Diouf were both also part of the same U19 squad in 2021/22.
Jacquet comes from a very strong group of young players and his reputation is only expected to rise in the coming years.
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‘Technical leader of his generation’
When it comes to how Jacquet plays, he appears to be very comfortable and composed on the ball.
The teenager, who starred as France reached the final of the U19 Euros last year, is also strong aerially and is a very quick defender.
His game has been compared to Arsenal and France star William Saliba already and it seems destined that Jacquet follows in his footsteps, as they were both born in Bondy in the suburbs of Paris.
Jacquet’s huge potential was pointed out by his old development coach at Rennes, Pierre-Emmanuel Bordeau.
The coach previously said: “He must gain consistency and reliability over a whole game, but he is the technical leader of his generation.”
And he has the stats to back up how good he is on the ball…
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U21 centre-backs: Progressive action rate
U21s across the top seven leagues (stats via DataMB)
- 29.49 – Jérémy Jacquet (Rennes)
- 29.18 – Dean Huijsen (Bournemouth, Real Madrid)
- 28.44 – Ignacio Rodríguez (AVS)
- 26.70 – Abdukodir Khusanov (Lens, Manchester City)
- 26.63 – El Chadaille Bitshiabu (RB Leipzig)
- 26.09 – Yarek Gasiorowski (Valencia)
- 25.81 – Luca Marianucci (Empoli)
- 24.70 – Konstantinos Koulierakis (Wolfsburg)
- 24.38 – Antonio Silva (Benfica)
- 23.16 – Wouter Goes (AZ)
Impressive stats
Jacquet had the highest progressive action rate across all of the top seven leagues for players aged under 21 last season.
That stat shows how frequently a player moves the ball forward, either via a pass or a carry in possession per game.
He sat above Real Madrid‘s £50million summer signing Dean Huijsen, who highly impressed in the Premier League last term.
The Frenchman also made more progressive plays per game than Manchester City‘s Abdukodir Khusanov.
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It proves he could be a great addition for Arsenal, who spend a lot of time on the ball and require their defenders to get involved in build-up play regularly.
So, it’s no surprise that the Gunners now have their eyes on him.
