Liverpool is said to be close to snapping up Dutch defender Jeremie Frimpong, having opted to trigger a release clause that exists in his contract with Bayer Leverkusen.
Upon tying up all the loose ends of the transfer, Frimpong will have to decide which jersey number he wishes to sport at Liverpool; his most likely pick is the number 30.
The 24-year-old donned the number 30 during his spell at former club Celtic and throughout his time in Germany. Luckily for him, it’s up for grabs at Anfield – and has been collecting dust for nearly 10 years.
Suso, the Spanish winger, was the last player to sport Liverpool’s number 30, sliding into the jersey when he broke into the senior squad. However, after racking up only 21 appearances and netting a single goal, Suso was shipped off to AC Milan in 2014, leaving the number unclaimed ever since.
While Frimpong appears to be a shoo-in to claim the number, there’s reportedly still some groundwork needed before he lands at Anfield, reports the Mirror.
Earlier in the week, Bayer Leverkusen’s CEO, Fernando Carro, addressed the rumors. Speaking with German news outlet SPORT, Carro remarked: “Jeremie Frimpong has a long contract with us, he also has a release clause, but we are not aware of a move at the moment.
“The rumors surprised me a bit when I started in the football business seven years ago. Gradually, I’ve been there longer, there are always different interested parties, there are different parties, there are different relationships. It’s actually quite difficult to find out where the rumours come from, but I have to say, there are many that really surprise me.”
Liverpool head coach Slot was asked about the prospect of Frimpong moving to Anfield in the summer during a press conference on Friday but refused to speak specifically about the Leverkusen player.
(Image: Liverpool FC)
“It’s going to be a boring answer,” Slot warned. “For the whole season it was about contract extensions. And now we are arriving in a time where everybody wants to know which players we’re going to bring in.
“We don’t talk about the players we want to bring in, in public, until the moment they’ve signed for us. We already have Conor Bradley, Joe Gomez, so it’s not like when Trent [Alexander-Arnold] is leaving I have no clue what to do anymore, but as a club, we are always looking at interesting players that can strengthen our squad. That’s the general answer, I’m not talking about individuals.”
Frimpong might not be the only one making a switch to Anfield this summer; his teammate Florian Wirtz is also on Liverpool’s radar, despite Manchester City eyeing him as a potential successor to Kevin De Bruyne.
The German international could also don his preferred squad number at Liverpool. His current number 27 at Bayer Leverkusen is up for grabs at Anfield after Darwin Nunez switched for the number nine jersey.
Securing both Frimpong and Wirtz would come at a steep cost for Liverpool. Frimpong has a $39 million release clause in his contract, while Wirtz’s market value is estimated to be at least $150 million.
