Liverpool has probably been planning for life without Trent Alexander-Arnold for some time now, so the news that the club has held initial talks over signing Jeremie Frimpong should come as no surprise.
Talks are said to be at a very early stage, but the news will no doubt excite Liverpool supporters after a difficult which week has seen it become pretty clear that Alexander-Arnold will leave the club in the summer.
Frimpong, 24, is currently playing in his fourth full season for Bayer Leverkusen, and since moving to Germany he has established himself as one of the best players in the world in his position.
The Dutchman primarily plays as a wing-back in Xabi Alonso’s system, and has even played further forward as a right-winger, but he also has plenty of experience at right-back.
He has played in all three positions for his country, but mostly he has played as a winger, and that is where he lined up for the Netherlands in its recent Nations League quarter-final meetings with Spain.
In the first leg, he provided a fine assist, sprinting away from Spain left-back Marc Cucurella down the right wing and cutting the ball back for Tijjani Reijnders to make it 2-1 to the Netherlands.
That assist prompted praise from Dutch boss Ronald Koeman, who said: “Amazing. Jeremie (Frimpong) was one we’d discussed; if you can find him quickly and he can approach a full-back, he’s lethal. To keep his eyes open, especially before the second goal… He is a big threat and pressures well. His speed is an amazing weapon.”
(Image: JOSE JORDAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Liverpool fans will certainly hope that the team has that “amazing weapon” at its disposal next season, and his arrival would no doubt soften the blow of Alexander-Arnold moving to Madrid.
Frimpong actually said last year that it would be “great” to sign for Liverpool. When the prospect of moving to Anfield was put to him, he responded: “A great club, with history. That would be great. Who knows what the future will bring?”
The 24-year-old previously revealed that he nearly joined Liverpool as a young boy but ultimately ended up joining Manchester City as the club was easier to get to from where he lived.
Frimpong was born in the Netherlands but has spent the majority of his life in Britain, moving there as a seven-year-old and joining the City academy when he was nine. Frimpong never made a senior appearance for City before joining Celtic in 2019, where he stayed for one and a half seasons ahead of joining Leverkusen.
“I chose Liverpool first,” Frimpong said. “I was going to sign for them but back then, driving wasn’t a thing. My family wasn’t driving and it was far. Obviously, Man City was local, so I tried Man City next, and then it made more sense. It was 15 minutes on the bus, so yeah.”
