Dutch midfielder Jeremie Frimpong was the driving force behind Bayer Leverkusen’s undefeated championship run last season and their run to the Europa League final.
Despite his small stature, his aggressive style of play has kept him dynamic in both attack and defence.
He was born in Amsterdam and moved to England with his family. He then grew up in Manchester City’s academy and made his first-team debut for Celtic in Scotland. His talent blossomed in the Bundesliga.
Now a leading right-sided midfielder or right-back in the German league, the 24-year-old has revealed that before joining Manchester City’s youth team, he wanted to go to Liverpool, but had to give it up due to the location being too difficult to commute to the city.
“I was playing striker and scored a hat-trick in a final, I won player of the tournament,”
“There were scouts there like Liverpool, Bolton, Man City and a lot more.”
“But I chose Liverpool first. I was going to sign for them but back then, driving wasn’t a thing, my family wasn’t driving like that and it was far.”
“And obviously, Man City was local so I tried Man City next and it made more sense. It was 15 minutes on the bus, so yeah.”
Rising Ballers
Jeremie Frimpong reveals that he almost joined LFC's academy before Manchester City as a youngster 👀🤏🏽
— Rising Ballers (@RisingBallers_) January 28, 2025
🗣️ “I chose Liverpool first. I was going to sign for them, but back then, driving wasn’t a thing. My family wasn’t driving & it was far. Man City was local, so it made more… pic.twitter.com/bUkKbXkK5p
Interest from Liverpool is also reported as a possible successor to England defender Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Realistically, he is the type of player who is more active up front than at side-back, and may be the perfect replacement for Egyptian international Mohamed Salah.
Also, at 1.72 metres, he is not a good height and is likely to struggle against the physicality of the Premier League’s forwards.
Will he ever make the move to Liverpool that he abandoned as a child?