Instead, it is Demba Ba, the former Newcastle United and Chelsea striker who is now sporting director and part-owner at Dunkerque, where Jaouen spent a formative loan season in 2024-25.
Ba watched the then-18-year-old arrive at the French second-division club with barely seven senior appearances to his name, take over the number one shirt, endure early public humiliation and emerge from the experience with a character and composure that Ba regards as the foundation of a very serious career.
He told The i Paper he was "excited" by Newcastle's signing of the goalkeeper for £24.2m.
"We are a club that develops players — he came to us with just seven senior games but we decided to make him our number one goalkeeper."
The early weeks were difficult. Jaouen made mistakes that cost Dunkerque points. He was booed by the home supporters. The coach eventually dropped him to protect him from the pressure.
"After a couple of games he got booed by the fans and our coach eventually decided to take him out of the side. We had another goalkeeper who was a little bit more experienced so the coach changed it."
What happened next revealed the character Ba now describes with such warmth.
"The kid took it very well. We talked to him and he was like, 'I made mistakes, I need to get better.' Because he's a very quiet guy you don't know if he was hearing it the right way or how he felt about it, so I paid a lot of attention to him and his confidence."
Ba is clear that the demotion was the making of him rather than a setback.
"I think that was the best thing for him and his career. Why? Because right after this he became the second goalkeeper for a few games, he accepted it, he stepped aside and he grew so much."
He observed how Jaouen used the time out of the team to study the goalkeeper ahead of him rather than resenting him.
"He was looking at the first-choice goalkeeper at the time — Ortola — and from my point of view he's the best goalkeeper in France, first or second division, to build from the back. He learned a hell of a lot from him when it came to playing from the back and short passes. He looked at the other goalkeeper and instead of being mad because he took his spot he took a step back, looked at how he was doing well and learned."
When Ortola was injured two months from the end of the season, Jaouen returned.
"Two months from the end of the season the number one got injured so Jaouen came back in and was a different beast."
Ba identifies one moment above all others that crystallised Jaouen's personality — a penalty taken in Dunkerque's French Cup run against Lille.
"The personality he showed in that moment — I was amazed. It sums up a bit who he is: a guy who works hard and takes responsibility."
At 20 years old, Jaouen arrives at St James' Park not as Newcastle United's number one — Nick Pope holds that position for at least one more year — but as a young goalkeeper with every quality required to eventually claim it.