Jeremie Frimpong and Liverpool: What we’re hearing – and what he offers

Liverpool are lining up a potential deal to sign Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong as they plan for a future without Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The 24-year-old has emerged as one of the most in-demand right-backs in Europe, with 14 goals and 12 assists in 47 appearances across all competitions last season as he helped Leverkusen go unbeaten to clinch the Bundesliga title.

He extended his contract with Leverkusen last year until 2028 but looks set to depart the club this summer and has a release clause of around €35million (£29.6m/$39.3m).

The relatively low value of that release clause, and the fact it can be executed cleanly, appeals to Liverpool.

Frimpong’s status as a ‘homegrown’ player under UEFA regulations — he spent nine years at Manchester City from the age of nine, having turned down the chance to join Liverpool’s academy as it was further away from where his family were based — is also attractive.

Frimpong would be keen on a move to Anfield and personal terms are not an obstacle. He is close to Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch, and also knows Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo from his time in international camps with the Netherlands.

Both the player and Leverkusen want a resolution to his future as soon as possible. Liverpool must now decide if and when to proceed with the possible move. Securing a new left-back is currently a higher priority than buying a right-back, despite Alexander-Arnold’s impending free transfer move to Real Madrid at the end of the season.

Arne Slot’s current options at left-back are Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas but there is a desire to bring in a new signing to increase competition, although that would probably lead to Tsimikas’ departure. Milos Kerkez, the Bournemouth left-back, is a leading contender but not the only one.

At right-back, Conor Bradley is in contention to be a starter next season, while Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah can potentially offer cover.

Liverpool are also considering a move for a centre-half. They are one of several clubs vying for Bournemouth’s Dean Huijsen.

Why does it make sense?

The Dutch international ticks a lot of boxes for Liverpool’s typical transfer criteria. At 24, he is approaching his peak years but can still develop and improve. He also has the required experience as he has been part of a title-winning side and experienced Champions League football.

The price is also a significant factor. Liverpool are always scanning for market opportunities and will look to take advantage of friendly release clauses, like they did with Alexis Mac Allister, paying Brighton & Hove Albion only £35m for his signature.

Personality also comes into this discussion. Frimpong is extremely popular at Leverkusen and it has been a hallmark of Liverpool’s recruitment in recent years that they have recruited good players who they also regard as good people.

It helps that he already has strong relationships with international team-mates Van Dijk, Gakpo and Gravenberch. During the recent international break, a video showed him greeting Gravenberch by putting on a Scouse accent.

Frimpong is well known to Virgil van Dijk (Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)

The fact that Frimpong spent over a decade of his youth career at Manchester City means that Frimpong also qualifies as a homegrown player, meaning he would be directly replacing the outgoing Alexander-Arnold in more ways than one.

A player counts as homegrown when they have been registered to an English or Welsh club for a period of three seasons (or years) before their 21st birthday. A club’s 25-man Premier League squad has to account for eight homegrown players. Last season, Liverpool had seven registered — Caoimhin Kelleher, Vitezslav Jaros, Gomez, Alexander-Arnold, Curtis Jones, Tyler Morton and Tom Hill.

The likes of Bradley, Quansah and Elliott were still classed as under-21s, although all three will become part of the homegrown quota this season as they were all born before January 1, 2004. They will likely take the places of Kelleher and Morton, who are both likely to depart this summer, while Hill left in January.

It would also not disrupt planning in other positions. Liverpool only have one non-homegrown spot free, but potential sales of the likes of Darwin Nunez could open up spots for other incomings without restricting targets to only being homegrown.

What is he like as a player?

After arriving from Celtic in January 2021, Frimpong became a mainstay in the side when Xabi Alonso arrived in October 2022. In a flexible role, it has allowed him to shine offensively. In his last three seasons, he has scored 30 goals and provided 35 assists in all competitions.

Frimpong would be signed to play primarily at right-back, but his versatility would be an asset that Slot could use.

He has experience playing in a more advanced role, either pushing extremely high as a right wing-back, operating as a right winger or a mobile attacking midfielder.

That was demonstrated in his role at Anfield in Liverpool’s 4-0 Champions League victory in November. Frimpong’s hybrid role saw him stretch the pitch vertically and score. It was ruled out for a handball in the build-up but it outlined his speed and attacking instincts.

Federico Chiesa was signed last summer primarily as the back-up to Mohamed Salah on the right, although that has not worked out for a variety of reasons.

Salah has remained injury-free this season, limiting chances for others to play in that position. However, next season he will miss club football for a period when he participates at the Africa Cup of Nations, which lasts from December 21 to January 18.

It is reasonable to think that Frimpong could slide into the advanced role while Salah is away and with Chiesa’s future uncertain.

How would he fit into the team stylistically?

Signing Frimpong is not like Liverpool are radically shifting from a defensive right-back to an attacking one.

Frimpong is a livewire. Everything he does is with a speed and conviction that makes him extremely difficult for defenders to cope with, particularly one-on-one. But he is not just an athlete. During his years in Leverkusen, he has worked on his timing and where to be at which points of an attacking move. He so often finds himself in the right place at the right time.

He is not a playmaker in the sense that Alexander-Arnold is. He doesn’t rake passes across the pitch and he doesn’t strike the ball in the same ultra-technical way.

His skill set means he is not required to be as involved in his side’s build-up. This is neatly outlined when looking at the off-ball runs he makes when his team have possession. As shown by SkillCorner’s profile, his running is geared more towards verticality and stretching the opposition with a high volume of runs ahead of the ball or into the box.

In a more orthodox right-back role this season, we have seen more of that from Alexander-Arnold but the better comparison is Bradley, who uses his athleticism to run beyond Salah. It has been a common theme in Slot’s system this season to have one or both of his full-backs running beyond the winger who is often looking to cut inside.

When in those positions, Frimpong has refined his final ball and can create high-quality chances. One of his original weaknesses was a tendency to rush or panic when in position to give a final pass or take a shot, whereas — while still not absolutely dependable — his composure in those positions has developed.

The three examples below show off his decision-making and execution to provide assists from his team-mates.

Against VfB Stuttgart, Frimpong took his defender on, one-on-one, and used his pace to gain a yard and whip a near-post cross into Patrik Schick, who flicked a header home.

The pair combined against Borussia Dortmund, too. This time, Frimpong got the ball out of his feet quickly and placed a low far-post cross perfectly into the path of Schick.

Finally, he showed his pace and awareness to exploit the vacant space created by Nathan Tella drifting infield versus Augsburg. He picked out the onrushing Martin Terrier with a low cutback.

Pace is not a common trait in this Liverpool side. There is athleticism, power and acceleration over small distances, but a speedster like Frimpong is something the current squad doesn’t possess.

It was demonstrated in his assists above, but it can also be used to create goalscoring opportunities for himself, like against Hoffenheim.

His defending has developed, too. Alonso’s system typically employed a back three, leaving the wing-backs large amounts to cover in both directions. To a certain extent, Leverkusen depended on Frimpong’s acceleration to cover gaps that appeared.

At the same time, his tackling and defending have grown more measured and he is by no means simply a frustrated winger dependent on recovery pace. A great deal of study and work — including extra individual sessions working with a private coach — has gone into improving that side of his game and it shows.

It does leave some tactical questions to ponder. Liverpool have predominantly used both full-backs deeper during the opening stages of their build-up play, which is not how he is used at Leverkusen.

One caveat: the examples above all show Frimpong bursting into acres of space created down the right channel — space that is occupied at Liverpool by Salah.

The current team is built around the Egyptian and disrupting his role too much after the season he has had would be a risk. However, it may allow Salah to move more central and closer to the goal if Frimpong is allowed to have an advanced starting position, which is no bad thing.

Ibrahima Konate is used to covering large spaces down Liverpool’s right channel to cover for whichever right-back has moved forward. Gravenberch, in the right side of the double pivot, has provided more protection this season.

It may require slightly more positional awareness and discipline from Frimpong, but he is a coachable player who is far from alien to the right-back position. Simultaneously, if Frimpong is given more freedom than Slot has afforded his full-backs this season, it may result in Liverpool’s midfield being slightly more reserved.

Slot has shown he can manage and solve defensive deficiencies. He has developed Liverpool into a more compact unit in his first season in charge while using Alexander-Arnold, who is a player teams tend to target. There is no reason introducing a player like Frimpong would change that.

Additional reporting: David Ornstein, Sebastian Stafford-Bloor

(Top photo: Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty Images)

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