Liverpool are believed to have made an enquiry for a prolific wide player who ended the 2023/24 season as a domestic title winner.
According to SportBild, the Reds are among several clubs to have asked Bayer Leverkusen about Jeremie Frimpong, who excelled in a wing-back role as they romped to a domestic double and also reached the Europa League final.
The 23-year-old has a release clause of €40m (£33.7m) in his contract at the BayArena which’ll expire on Friday, even though his current deal runs to 2028.
Barcelona have reportedly submitted an offer for the Netherlands international, although it’s thought to be far too low for Xabi Alonso’s side to accept.
While Frimpong is listed on a Leverkusen team sheet as a nominal defender, in truth he’s a roving wing-back whose heatmap for the season shows that he spends more time in the opposition’s half of the pitch than his own.
That licence to bomb forward at will helped him to rack up a remarkable tally of 14 goals and 12 assists for the 2023/24 campaign, with the former tally actually one greater than Liverpool attacker Luis Diaz (and also accrued in 251 fewer minutes of game-time).
As mentioned by Jordan Chamberlain in this week’s Editor’s Column on EOTK, the reported pursuit of the 23-year-old and the emergence of Conor Bradley appear to point towards Trent Alexander-Arnold being considered for a full-time midfield role, but where does that then leave the Northern Ireland youngster?
Surely if the Reds were to spend upwards of £30m on a right-sided wing-back, they wouldn’t just park him on the bench and implore him to be patient for his opportunity.
With Joe Gomez also capable of playing at right-back, Liverpool are already well stocked for players in that department, although the delightful G/A numbers racked up by Frimpong undoubtedly make him a mouth-watering prospect to envisage at Anfield.
If the reported enquiry to Leverkusen eventually leads to a transfer, great. If it doesn’t, Arne Slot still has a healthy scope of choice in that part of the squad.
