Right-back was a troublesome position for Liverpool last season, with a host of players performing the role across the campaign.
Jeremie Frimpong has had a mixed start to his Liverpool career
Jeremie Frimpong has had a mixed start to his Liverpool career(Image: Paul Currie/Shutterstock)
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Andoni Iraola has a large to-do list to work through after being appointed as the new head coach of Liverpool and one of those tasks is determining who his regular right-back should be next season.
Trent Alexander-Arnold had made the position his own under Jurgen Klopp, but after completing a move to Real Madrid 12 months ago, Arne Slot needed to find a replacement. He signed fellow Dutchman Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen in a £29.5m deal.
The attacking wide-man scored on his debut in the Community Shield against Crystal Palace, but made an inconsistent start before succumbing to injury in October, which ruled him out for two months. Fellow right-back Conor Bradley assumed the position, but then suffered a season-ending knee injury against Arsenal in early January.
Slot experimented with several other players filling the position, including Dominik Szoboszlai, Joe Gomez, Wataru Endo and Curtis Jones. When Frimpong returned to fitness, he was unable to cement his place in the team at right-back, with the Dutch head coach frequently preferring to play one of his midfielders there instead of his summer signing.
Slot may have now parted ways with the Reds, but that does not mean that Frimpong's future at Anfield is necessarily secure. New boss Andoni Iraola must decide where he needs to strengthen and he will certain;y need more cover at left-back following the departure of Andy Robertson.
But if Frimpong wants a more comfortable player/manager relationship, then he could do a lot worse than reuniting with his former Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso at Chelsea, according to former Valencia and Barcelona midfielder Gaizka Mendieta.
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Frimpong was a Bundesliga champion with Leverkusen under Alonso when Die Werkself went the entire 2023-24 season unbeaten.
Speaking to Grosvenor Sport, who have doubled their World Cup odds on England, the ex-Spanish international said: "Jeremie Frimpong could be a good asset for Xabi Alonso at Chelsea. Managers have players they trust from previous clubs and there will be a belief from the player that they can find that form again.
"We often see players reuniting with former coaches for that reason, especially if things aren't going well for those players like Frimpong at Liverpool.
"It’s a way of getting them back to form, hoping you can get the maximum out of the player and help you win things. I’m sure Chelsea will be active again in the market, they have to let players leave and bring new players in to suit the new coach."
Frimpong made 35 appearances for Liverpool in all competitions in his first season at the club, scoring twice.
Of the seven different players who appeared at right-back for Liverpool last season, only one - Endo - is competing at the World Cup.
Frimpong, Jones, Gomez and Calvin Ramsay (who made one League Cup start) were all overlooked by their national team managers while Hungary and Northern Ireland both failed the qualify anyway.
Iraola must decide if shuffling his right-back options is as vital as the work he needs to undertake in other areas of the pitch before next season gets underway.