1 day ago
17 Fresh reports from Sky Germany claimed that Jeremie Frimpong could not be considered a serious transfer target for Liverpool.
The reasoning? Arne Slot prefers a traditional back four, so the presence of a fullback even more mobile than Trent Alexander-Arnold would not suit the Reds’ system.
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Nonetheless, Florian Plettenberg acknowledged on X (formerly Twitter) that the Merseysiders ‘are impressed’ with what they’ve seen from the 24-year-old.
Christian Falk took this a step further and confirmed that the club continues to keep the ‘very special’ star on their shortlist.
Jeremie Frimpong could be more than a fullback to Liverpool
(Photo by Sebastian Widmann/Getty Images)It’s really worth emphasising that Frimpong can’t be viewed simply as a fullback in isolation.
The Bayer Leverkusen star certainly has skills – incredible pace and dribbling ability among them – that would surely be well-suited to a more advanced position.
“True: That Jeremie Frimpong is on the shortlist at Liverpool. He’s a very special player. He can play many positions and that makes him so interesting for Liverpool,” Falk informed CaughtOffside in his exclusive Fact Files column.
“There are no concrete talks yet at the moment, but he’s in their sights.
“The head coach at Liverpool, Arne Slot, is Dutch, and it’s evident he has a good relationship with Dutch players. There is another thing worth mentioning: Trent Alexander-Arnold said it’s very good for him to have a coach who is explaining to him very clearly how to play his position. This shows Slot likes to have some tactical variation.
“Xabi Alonso does this as well; Frimpong is not always playing the same way at Bayer Leverkusen. If you want to change your system during a match, he can be a secret weapon. Frimpong has always tended to show this, especially against Bayern Munich; he was always a key player when he started or came in off the bench.
“This makes him so interesting for his potential suitors. However, a release clause of €40m is a lot.”
The Bundesliga star ranks in the 98th and 89th percentiles for progressive carries and successful take-ons respectively when compared to his fullback peers. However, these numbers do admittedly slide down the scale when compared to other wingers and attacking midfielders (79th and 40th percentiles respectively), according to FBref.
Assuming that a potential suitor opted to start Jeremie Frimpong from a more advanced position, of course, the needles could move back in the right direction.
With Mo Salah still yet to sign a contract extension at the club, it’s an idea worth keeping in mind for Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes.
Did Liverpool talk with Frimpong’s agent?
The major update of the prior week was Liverpool’s clear show of interest by inviting the fullback’s agent, Dirk Hebel, to Anfield for their Champions League encounter with Bayer Leverkusen.
“I heard that his agent, Dirk Hebel, was invited by Liverpool for the match against Bayer Leverkusen. He was in the director’s box. So, you see the club and the player’s entourage are talking,” Christian Falk confirmed.
We’re not quite at the stage of discussing terms and conditions around a potential transfer move but the interest is, at the very least, clearly there.
The Reds will have to fork out his release clause – currently €40m [£33m] – if they wish to get this deal over the line. Though, this can hardly be considered extortionate given the calibre of player they could be forced to replace in either Trent Alexander-Arnold or Mo Salah.
