France manager, Zinedine Zidane, was so taken aback by a Liverpool player he repeated the same phrase four times when assessing his performance.

After five years away, Zidane is back in management having succeeded Didier Deschamps in the French hotseat.

The icon oversaw successive victories to begin his tenure as Les Bleus boss, with France beating Turkey and Belgium in the Nations League.

Next up were Italy, and after Zidane handed Liverpool’s Jeremy Jacquet his senior debut against Belgium, another start was forthcoming against the Italians.

There was to be no clean sheet for France, with the final score a 1-1 draw. Nevertheless, it was Reds new boy Jacquet who received the highest praise from Zidane post-match.

When speaking about the centre-back, the 54-year-old declared: “Very good. Very, very good. Brave.

“He wasn’t afraid to come out a long way. Very good in the duels. He was, once again, very good. I said it four times.”

Jacquet joined Liverpool from Rennes over the summer in a deal worth £55m plus £5m in add-ons. If the past few months are anything to go by, Liverpool underpaid.

Jacquet has already struck up a dominant partnership with Virgil van Dijk and the pair helped the Reds kepe three successive clean sheets prior to the international break.

At just 21 years of age, Liverpool have a real player on their hands, and hopefully from their perspective, for the better part of the next decade at least.

Jeremy Jacquet outshines every France teammate

Eurosport reporter, Martin Mosnier, assessed every French player on the night, and it was Jacquet with his mark of 7.5 who received the highest rating. No other Frenchman even received a 7.

“It’s extremely rare to see a central defender at this level after just two caps,” wrote Mosnier.

“Jacquet played like a true leader, relentlessly pressing the Italians right up to their own penalty area.

“Hyper-aggressive, the former Rennes player prevented the Azzurri from imposing their rhythm and allowed Les Bleus to win back possession in crucial areas.

“His pinpoint pass to Dembele (27th minute) demonstrated his immense confidence, and his ball distribution was often a model of conviction.”