Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong both made the move to Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen
Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong both made the move to Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen
Sean Dundee can hold his hands up and say it was his own fault that he flopped at Liverpool. The former striker joined the Reds in a £2m deal from Karlsruher SC in the summer of 1998, having established himself as a prolific goalscorer in the Bundesliga.
But he found himself returning to Germany little over a year later, tail between his legs, having made just five appearances for the Reds.
While he might have struggled at Anfield, he has no concerns that Liverpool’s latest signings from the Bundesliga will suffer the same way. The 52-year-old has seen plenty of both Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong in recent years, courtesy of his role as a co-commentator on the Bundesliga world feed.
But while he’s excited for his former club at having signed the pair, insisting supporters will love both players following their club-record £116m and £29.5m switches from Bayer Leverkusen, he also admits he can’t help but feel mixed emotions about Wirtz and Frimpong leaving Germany behind.
“I'm always upset when good players leave the Bundesliga, you know, because the Bundesliga loses a bit of value,” he explained in an exclusive interview with the ECHO, speaking on behalf of Wildz Casino.
“Florian Wirtz going to Liverpool, that's a big, big signing for Liverpool. I love him. Being a Bayern supporter as well, I was hoping he'd go to Bayern.
“And then I saw City, I thought, ‘Oh, no!’ But then Liverpool came and nabbed him, and I think that's a great signing for Liverpool.
“He's a fantastic player and I'm sure the fans are going to absolutely love him.
“Jeremie is a great player too, obviously completely different to Trent Alexander-Arnold. It’s hard for Liverpool that he's gone, but Frimpong is also a very exciting player.
“Works that right side, very versatile down the wing and I'm sure the Liverpool supporters are going to love him as well.
“I struggled when I moved to Liverpool from the Bundesliga. It was my own fault, I was not fit enough and made a bad first impression.
“But both those players are big, huge professionals. They had Xabi Alonso as coach. I'm sure they've learned a lot from him. He was an incredible coach, and both those players got a lot better when he was there.
“I'm sure that both those players, with Arne Slot getting them, already have an advantage that they have a coach that bought those players, and clearly wants them to always play too.”
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Dundee is confident that both Wirtz and Frimpong will fit in well at Liverpool. And having seen the Reds win the Premier League title last season, he believes they can help his old club defend their crown.
“Liverpool won the Premier League, and I thought the season that's coming is going to be very difficult,” he said. “But the signings they've got… I think Florian Wirtz is a player that can definitely help the club win the title again.
“I used to love watching him. Just the energy he has, what he brings to the team. He just fits into the team, you know? He's a player that gets on with the players really well.
“He'll fit in and adapt to the team that's already there. So that's important. He's not an arrogant boy. He knows what he wants to do, he sets his own levels very high.
“Frimpong is a bit different to Trent, but he can play a lot of positions. Jeremie Frimpong can play a few positions.
“You're not going to get those passes that Trent used to play out the back, those killer passes that I've seen him play so often.
“But you've got a player that's going to work that right side. I think that Liverpool are going to have a lot more speed now going forward.
“Wirtz is exactly that kind of player as well. He's always looking for other players. I think that whoever plays on the left and right, and Florian through the middle, that he'll be able to play, get them into play very quickly.
“That's what Leverkusen also did well with Frimpong as well, coming down that right side and getting into the in behind the defenders, especially when teams like to play deep.
“They’re big price tags, more so with Wirtz than with Frimpong. It's obviously going to be something that's going to follow him.