Jeremie Frimpong has been scolded for ‘acting like a kid’ on the pitch by Liverpool legend Jan Molby.
The Dutchman has had a mixed first season with the Reds since arriving in a £29.5m deal with Bayer Leverkusen last summer.
And having seen him struggle to assert himself as a starter at either right-back or on the wing, Molby has claimed that pace alone is no reason to keep faith in Frimpong succeeding at Liverpool.
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Frimpong does not have the quality for Liverpool – Molby
Frimpong looked like a slightly strange signing when becoming the Reds’ first of the summer in 2025.
Injuries have not helped him to assert himself, and despite some promising displays – largely at right wing – there have been plenty of difficult moments as well.
Molby has certainly noticed this, and when asked whether Frimpong’s pace could be exactly what Liverpool need moving forward, the Dane told Anfield Index that he simply does not think the 25-year-old is good enough.
“I struggle with it, and I’ve had that problem for a while,” Molby said. “It’s only natural that football fans wish new players to do well, and Frimpong only had to do one thing and people would go ‘he’s getting better you know.'”
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“I’ve always been a little bit critical, because look beyond his pace and then tell me where are the top four Premier League qualities. I don’t see it.
“He sometimes, on the pitch, acts like a kid, he sometimes plays like a kid and he looks like a kid doesn’t he, when you see the size of him next to some of them. It doesn’t mean he’s not a great footballer, but this is just a different ball-game.
“You’ve got to be able to look after yourself, to be physical, to play, and I just can’t see in what world that what turns this [around] is Frimpong and his pace. I can’t have that.”
While Molby’s verdict will seem overly harsh to some, plenty more will understand where he is coming from. The drop-off in on-the-ball standard from Trent Alexander-Arnold to Frimpong has been enormous, and while his pace is certainly needed in this Liverpool team, there has to be more quality.
He should – and will – be given the grace of a second season to prove his worth, but the feeling is already there that Frimpong potentially cannot be relied upon.
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