Bayer Leverkusen wing-back Jeremie Frimpong could replace outgoing Liverpool full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold
Bayer Leverkusen wing-back Jeremie Frimpong could replace outgoing Liverpool full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold this summer
Jeremie Frimpong sits highly among the players Liverpool will consider for transfer this summer, should they deem a right-sided full-back a necessary purchase. The decision rests with Arne Slot and Co. as the club prepares for life without Trent Alexander-Arnold.
As reported by the ECHO, Frimpong will be available to buy from Bayer Leverkusen this summer for only £30m, thanks to a known release clause. The gates have been lowered at the BayArena with manager and former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso destined to depart at the season's end, and Frimpong himself is understood to be warm to an Anfield switch.
As much as some supporters may not wish to admit it in the face Alexander-Arnold's exit, the Reds stand to lose an integral piece of their Premier League-winning machine.
The ECHO analyses what Frimpong would offer Slot's team as they prepare to go again as champions in 2025/26.
Why would Liverpool sign Jeremie Frimpong?
In the simplest terms, they would be going into the new season a right-sided defender down at this rate.
Conor Bradley has made 27 appearances in all competitions for Liverpool this term, starting 12 of those. But he has also missed 17 matches through two separate injuries and at 21 years of age is still very much a player in development.
Let's face it, Alexander-Arnold is never being replaced - he's simply too unique.
So making up for Bradley's differences in style to the outgoing No.66 and his fitness flaws would be the arrival of Frimpong, who is already established as one of Europe's most exciting wing-backs.
A Dutch national team showing against continental champions Spain in March saw the 24-year-old create four chances, make seven dribbles and win 10 of his 17 challenges. It prompted manager Ronald Koeman to say via Flashscore: "Amazing. Jeremie was one we'd discussed; if you can find him quickly and he can approach a full-back, he's lethal.
"To keep his eyes open, especially before the second goal... He is a big threat and pressures well. His speed is an amazing weapon."
At club level for Bayer Leverkusen the player in question has made 190 appearances despite his tender age, in which time 30 goals and 44 assists have been notched up - hugely impressive for a player with defensive duties to also take care of.
Liverpool are going to lose their most creative outlet so it makes sense that they would do all they could to reduce the damage.
It also helps that the player involved knows what it means to win silverware, having won an invincible Bundesliga and German Cup double under Alonso last season and before that, the Scottish Premiership and two cup competitions too.
"Since I got here for the first time, since the first day, Jeremie has been a key player for us and for myself," the Spaniard said before the 2023/24 Europa League final. "He's a great guy.
"His personality - he brings a lot of joy to the locker room. So you need to keep him having this joy. But as well as become more mature."
And finally Frimpong would be classed as a homegrown talent if returning to England as he was a product of Manchester City's academy, spending over a decade there, meaning he can be included in the eight required in Slot's squad for 2025/26.
How does Jeremie Frimpong compare to Trent Alexander-Arnold?
This discussion feeds nicely into our next discussion.
Both players are capable defensively but supporters may be excited to see that the Dutchman's 55.2 per cent success rate in tackling is higher than the departing vice-captain's 46.6 percent.
Realistically the important differences will come in how they help Slot's side advance towards the opposite goal.
In that regard, the pair tend to operate quite differently.
Alexander-Arnold has made 32 Premier League appearances to Frimpong's 33 in the Bundesliga but there is only a six-minute difference swinging in the Englishman's favour in the exact time they have played overall in the 2024/25 campaign.
The way they get at the opposition contrasts as Frimpong, more comfortable running with the ball, has double the amount of progressive carries than his counterpart. He has also made 182 more piercing movements to receive progressive passes than Alexander-Arnold has.
He, on the other hand, is more effective through his progressive passing, winning that area 228 to 55.
It makes sense to go for the Dutchman if Slot is seeking to develop his possession-based style of play to break down the opposition gradually but incisively. He wants players who are comfortable with short interchanges, as Leverkusen's player is proven to be with 56.5 per cent of his passes classed as short-range (5-15 yards).
Alexander-Arnold, on the other hand, under Slot, has made 43 per cent at short-range, and 40.9 per cent at medium range (15-30 yards), prompting greater risk of turning over possession to the opposition.
This versatility of Frimpong's would be extremely attractive to Liverpool playing with and without Mohamed Salah on the right flank.
With 89 per cent of his time spent as a right-midfielder stylistically in Germany this season, he has mastered the art of overlapping his winger ahead to either carry or receive the ball. In theory, this would take some of the creative burden from Salah, who is soon to be 33, and allow him to take up space closer to the goal where he is most effective.
Next winter, the club also face another spell where their prized Egyptian will be away playing for his country at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), so there is the possibility of Frimpong taking an advanced right-sided role in his absence if Federico Chiesa has not found his footing by then.