Liverpool are set to finally beat Chelsea to a key transfer target – even if this time, it appears to be a one-horse race.
The Reds are keen on Bayer Leverkusen star Jeremie Frimpong to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold this summer.
Europan football expert Kevin Hatchard told talkSPORT’s Hawskbee & Baker: “He’s incredibly attack-minded, but Arne Slot is an excellent coach, and I’m sure he would have a plan for how to use him best.”
Now it appears the deal is close with the Merseysiders looking to meet the star’s £33.6million release clause.
And this time, Chelsea have no desire to swoop in and snatch a Romeo Lavia or Moises Caicedo from under their rivals’ noses.
That is despite Frimpong once picking the Stamford Bridge outfit when asked by Sport BILD to name his dream club.
“Was actually always Chelsea FC,” he said when quizzed about his fantasy transfer in 2022.
“As a kid, I used to watch Chelsea games with my uncle, mostly because of Didier Drogba.”
However, three years on, Frimpong’s long-awaited return to England will bring him full circle with the club he almost joined as a child.
Born in Amsterdam as the fifth child of seven, Frimpong made his way to Manchester in 2007 when he was six and started starring for AFC Clayton and Clayton Villa boys’ clubs.
During that tenure, the defender played up front for his local team, banging in goals on the incentives his brother was offering him.
“I used to tell him, ‘You score this amount of goals, I’ll buy you this, I’ll take you there’,” Frimpong’s older brother, Jeffrey, told The Athletic.
Fastest Bundesliga defenders 2024-2025
- Jeremie Frimpong – 36.34 (KM/H)
- Alphonso Davies – 36.24
- Tim Oermann – 35.97
- Max Rosenfelder – 35.91
- Christian Gunter – 35.87
- Piero Hincapie – 35.84
“The PS3 came out around that time, and I used to tell him, ‘If you score three goals, then mum and I will put money towards buying you a PS3’.
“I was telling him this for like four months, and basically, every game, he’d score a hat-trick.
“Then it got to a point where he just kept scoring goals because it became a habit. I didn’t need to tell him any more to do anything.”
Frimpong’s form led to Liverpool vying for his services, but logistical issues saw him sign for Man City at the age of nine instead.
He told Rising Ballers: “I was playing striker and scored a hat-trick in a final, I won player of the tournament. There were scouts there like Liverpool, Bolton, Man City and a lot more were present.
“But I chose Liverpool first. I was going to sign for them, but back then, driving wasn’t a thing, my family wasn’t driving like that, and it was far. And obviously, Man City was local, so I tried Man City next, and it made more sense. It was 15 minutes on the bus, so yeah.”
Frimpong became part of an illustrious City U18’s outfit alongside Jadon Sancho and Phil Foden, before continuing to impress with the U23s in Premier League 2 and the UEFA Youth League.
Frimpong told the Mail: “My mates were going out and I was like: ‘Sorry, I have to sleep because I have football in the morning.’ My sister got engaged to be married, and I had to miss the engagement party with the family because I had a game the next day.
“I felt sad about that one, but if you want to be a footballer, it’s a sacrifice you have to be prepared to make. The higher the level you go to, the less you see of your family.”
Frimpong never managed a minute for the senior City side, yet caught the attention of then Celtic-boss Neil Lennon after impressing in a friendly win over the Hoops’ development side in 2019.
A £350,000 deal – rising to £1million with add-ons – was swiftly agreed, with Frimpong admitting ‘City will always be in my heart’. upon his exit.
“I had been at City all my football life and I had the ability to play there,” He said. “But I knew in my head that it was about the coach, Pep Guardiola, trusting me to play. And I knew I wasn’t going to get that. So I needed to change something.
“When he bought another right-back this summer, Joao Cancelo, that topped it off because he is a young guy as well.
“You train with the first team every week, and then you go back down with the under-23s. There wasn’t really a pathway for me at Man City.”
Frimpong wasted little time in impressing at Celtic, as he shone on his professional debut, a 5-0 win over Partick Thistle in the Scottish Cup.
“He took the opportunity and was excellent,” Lennon told BBC Scotland.
“He’s really impressed us in training, and it was a great debut for him. He’s very quick, strong for his size and very good on the ball. We’re hoping for big things from Jeremie as he goes along.”
Frimpong duly delivered on that early promise, appearing 24 times during his maiden season in Glasgow with four goals and five assists.
Celtic later won a Scottish Premiership Cup and League Cup treble, with Frimpong endearing himself with his infectious interviews.
Former Celtic head coach Lennon admitted: “I’ve never seen a better kid than him.
The quality of his play, the pace of his play, the end product. His fitness levels are incredible, I think that the fans have really taken to him.”
Frimpong was snapped up by Leverkusen in January 2021, and months later, international sides were swooping as well.
The 5ft 7in starlet, who was able to qualify for Ghana due to his mother, could also have ended up as yet another right-back option for England.
Yet the promise of emulating former Celtic defender turned Liverpool colossus Virgil van Dijk for club and country saw him opt for the Netherlands, despite his struggles with the Dutch language.
Frimpong, who speaks with a slight Mancunian accent and retains homegrown status in the Premier League, told ESPN Netherlands: “I can but England’s out the way. I’m not English, I’m Dutch.”
He may have to amend that phrase upon his arrival in Liverpool, after going viral for greeting Ryan Gravenberch in a Merseyside accent.
He’s not English – but Frimpong will soon be scouse…
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