Former Liverpool midfielder Bolo Zenden has spoken on the state of two current players under Arne Slot
Dominik Szoboszlai of Liverpool
Dominik Szoboszlai of Liverpool(Image: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
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Jeremie Frimpong has been challenged to improve his form next season - with Liverpool told they should not use the Holland international as a right winger.
Frimpong has endured a difficult campaign since arriving for £29million from Bayer Leverkusen last summer, hampered by three separate injury setbacks and an inability to nail down a regular position.
While having impressed during December and January, the 25-year-old has struggled in recent weeks when deputising for the injured Mohamed Salah on the right flank.
Conor Bradley had become first-choice at right-back before suffering a season-ending knee problem in New Year with Liverpool expected to replace the departing Salah in this summer's transfer window.
And former Liverpool midfielder Bolo Zenden believes the influence of Trent Alexander-Arnold, who left for Real Madrid last year, has been impossible to replicate.
"It's obviously difficult to fill the boots of Trent, given his qualities," said Zenden. "I think they're also not the same type of players. I think Trent was more a defender than an attacker, whereas Jeremie Frimpong is more an attacker than a full-back.
"But Frimpong is not a right winger. At Leverkusen he played the whole width as more of a wing-back.
"And it obviously depends on how you're going to use him and how you're going to play with that system. I remember also with the likes of Trent, who was playing in behind Mohamed Salah, they had good momentum going.
"They really complimented each other quite well, and Trent had a fantastic early cross. That's different with Frimpong. He's a different type of player. He's one that plays a little bit more on the wing and by wing I mean on the sideline. He's not the type that delivers the early cross.
"Sometimes there's a reason why things don't really go the way they should be, or the way they went before. Yeah, of course, I think Frimpong also has to step it up a bit next season if he wants to be a regular within Arne Slot's team."
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Dominik Szoboszlai has been one of very few positives for Liverpool this season having impressed in a number of positions, including recently as one of the two deeper-lying midfielders.
And Zenden, who featured in the Champions League final for the Reds in 2007, believes the Hungary international could eventually replace Virgil van Dijk as Reds skipper.
"I can see Dominik Szoboszlai as a future Liverpool captain," said Zenden, speaking to BOYLE Sports who offer the latest Champions League betting. "At the moment, if you look at the dressing room, there are already two or three captains, and I don't know if Szoboszlai is already one of them. But it's most likely that when a change comes, someone will step up and be the next.
"He's a player who dominates in the middle, he's influential, and he always works really hard for the team. He scores his goals and is a very, very important player for the team. You can be a captain if you lead by example. Why not?
"But there were all the links to Real Madrid which Liverpool fans of course didn’t like but it doesn't mean that you don't work for your team or that you don't want to win trophies and be the best you can be for the team that you're at."