Youth fields are often paved with certainties and promises, but some sometimes age poorly. Yes, talent is generally detected very early, but trajectories are never really guessed. They depend on encounters, opportunities, choices of coach, injuries, confidence given at the right time, and that element of unpredictability that accompanies every career. So many factors capable of changing, favorably or not, the destiny of a young player. Jeremy Jacquet knows something about this after going through difficult times during his training.
He did not wear the same label as Désiré Doué or Mathys Tel
Unlike Mathys Tel or Désiré Doué, from the same 2005 generation, the 21-year-old defender did not have a clear trajectory before arriving at the French team during this break. “ When we bring him in at 14, there is potential, but we still need to develop itresituates Khaled Garbaa, former Rennes recruiter now responsible for LOSC, and at the origin of the arrival of Jérémy Jacquet, Sacha Boey, Djaoui Cissé, Kader Méïté and even Andy Diouf in Rennes. He is not yet identified or in advance like a Mathys Tel or a Désiré Doué can be, who are already well above in their age category. Jérémy, it’s more with Jeanüel (Belocian, also trained in Rennes before joining Bayer Leverkusen in 2025, and French international hopeful) that we can compare it. »
Before joining Rennes, the suitors were not rushing to recruit him. Sekou Doucouré, his teammate at the time at Joinville, attracted more attention from professional clubs until his signing for PSG. “ When we go to see Jérémy during a triangular in Grigny where Mathys (Tel) is also present, he has the misfortune of injuring his shoulder before touching his first ball. He bursts into tears. I told him when we were waiting for the firefighters: “Don’t worry, we will continue to follow you.” He didn’t believe it and we finally recruited him a few months later. But the first time we go to see him, we are the only club on him. He was tall, with glasses, a little messy, but with the ball on his feet, it wasn’t bad enough. », explains this seasoned recruiter from the Paris region for decades.
He has caught up with his competitors at the time
Today, the qualities that stand out in Jacquet are the same as at the time, but his training has allowed them to be affirmed. “ His bones were growing but without the musculature around them, we had to let him finish growing and have an adult body. If his body kept up with the workload required of it, there was great potential “, confides Landry Chauvin, trainer in Rennes for more than 20 years and director of the Breton training center between 2014 and 2019. “ Physically, Jérémy was not immediately ready, we had to wait for him to reach physical maturity, unlike other profiles. But he had the speed, the intelligence of the game, a good foot which allowed him to sometimes play 6 or 8, and he was slender », Adds Khaled Garbaa, who took care to meet the dad, Dominique, whose resemblance was already striking to Jérémy in the silhouette.
But this slender physique had to be patient. At 16-17 years old, when his friends Désiré Doué and Mathys Tel were playing their first professional minutes, Jérémy Jacquet saw his progress slowed down by some physical problems, to the point of spending almost a year away from the field. This partly explains his delay over certain players of the same age at the time, then considered the references of the 2005 generation in France. We think in particular of the former Parisian El Chadaille Bitshiabu, the Monegasque Christian Mawissa, or the Chelsea player Mamadou Sarr, already built athletically when barely adults.
The three men then shared the minutes within the hinge of the French U17 team crowned European champion in 2022, when Jérémy Jacquet was watching the competition on TV. “ There was frustration, but Jérémy always had an exceptional mentality. It is no coincidence that he was very popular with trainers and coaches. Once his body was consolidated, there was no stopping him. », recalls a former Rennes trainer. Then followed the selections for the French U18, U19, U20 team, then this first appearance in L1 on January 14, 2024 against Nice. Jacquet then left on loan to Clermont (L2), before being recalled by Stade Rennais in January 2025. A few months later, he joined Liverpool for 70 million euros and took his first steps in the French team. Lost time has been made up for.
