Liverpool’s Brand-New Defense Is Taking Shape Ahead of 2026–27 Season

Ibrahima Konaté has moved on but Liverpool welcomed a new face this week.

Jérémy Jacquet is now a Liverpool player. | Neal Simpson/Sportsphoto/Allstar/Getty Images

Liverpool could start the first day of the new season with the past and the future side by side in central defense, after summer signing Jérémy Jacquet confirmed he has fully recovered from a long-term shoulder injury.

Jacquet has now completed a £60 million ($79.7 million) transfer from Rennes that was pre-arranged in February. The 20-year-old Frenchman effectively replaces compatriot Ibrahima Konaté, who has signed with Real Madrid as a free agent, and joins a group of center backs led by Virgil van Dijk.

Giovanni Leoni, who suffered an ACL tear just over nine months ago, has also been tipped to return in time for preseason—ahead of the original anticipated 12-month schedule. Joe Gomez is the only other recognized center back in the first-team squad.

Any lingering doubts that Jacquet’s shoulder, hurt only five days after agreeing to become the second-most expensive defender in Liverpool history, will continue to be a problem into preseason have been allayed by the player himself.

“I feel much improved and I will be 100% ready [for the start of preseason],” Jacquet told Liverpool’s official website, adding, “I’m a little ahead of schedule.

“I was given the go-ahead to start a program of training with the group [at Rennes], but it was a bit late to be with the team. But with continued hard work I’ll be fully fit before the [2026–27] season.”

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When Will Jérémy Jacquet Make his Liverpool Debut?

Liverpool are expected to begin preseason training around July 13, for which Jacquet should be ready to hit the ground running. Not a national team player, there is no concern about World Cup participation delaying his start date.

The majority of the squad is available from day one, while of those that did go to the World Cup— Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak, Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo and Ryan Gravenberch—have already been eliminated. A mandatory three-week break ensues, but that will expire by the time Liverpool are due to face Sunderland in Nashville to kick off a U.S. tour on July 25.

It stands to reason that Sunderland could be Jacquet’s unofficial Liverpool debut.

After also facing Wrexham and Leeds United stateside, before hosting Monaco and Como back home at Anfield, the Premier League campaign opens on August 23 away at Newcastle United.

Van Dijk will be far enough removed from the World Cup by that stage to have no questions about his starting status. Jacquet, who turns 21 years old this month, could be considered the less risky option than Leoni to partner the aging Dutchman.

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Liverpool’s New Defense in 2026–27

Things might soon look a little different. | Michael Regan/Getty Images

This season will be a huge opportunity for Jacquet to learn from Van Dijk before he ultimately is tasked with replacing him, sooner rather than later. The Reds captain turns 35 next week and has now entered the final 12 months of the two-year contract he signed in 2024. This season is likely to be his last with Liverpool, and plausibly even the last of his entire career.

For now, it seems the most logical partnership for new manager Andoni Iraola to put faith in.

At right back, the only option for now is Jeremie Frimpong, as a result of Conor Bradley’s anticipated return from injury scheduled after the season has started. On the left, there are no questions about Milos Kerkez now that Andy Robertson has also been released.

Liverpool fans could soon be getting used to a new starting goalkeeper amid ongoing uncertainty about Alisson’s future and links with a summer move—primarily Juventus. Giorgi Mamardashvili, brought in for this very eventuality, is waiting in the wings.

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