Frimpong a potential top pick

Liverpool completed their first transfer deal of the summer window last week, with their £29.5m acquisition of Bayer Leverkusen ‘defender’ Jeremie Frimpong.

The Dutch international, who will serve as a replacement for Trent Alexander-Arnold, arrives at Anfield on a five-year contract.

In this Scout Report, we’ve looked at Frimpong’s career history, his style of play, where he might fit in at Liverpool, and, crucially, his Fantasy Premier League (FPL) appeal.

HISTORY

Born in Amsterdam, Frimpong moved to England with his family at the age of seven and began his career in the youth ranks at Manchester City.

He failed to make a single senior appearance for the club, however, prompting his decision to move north of the border to Celtic in 2019, where he won three major honours prior to Leverkusen acquiring his services.

The 24-year-old racked up a remarkable 74 goal contributions in 190 appearances for the German club, with his 2023/24 campaign under Xabi Alonso, in which he helped guide Leverkusen to a historic unbeaten domestic double, particularly productive.

That offensive output continued in 2024/25, albeit to a slightly lesser extent, as he scored five times and added a further 12 assists.

Frimpong’s Senior Career History Stats

Frimpong, meanwhile, made his debut with the senior Dutch national team in October 2023 and has 12 caps and one goal for his country to date.

PLAYING STYLE / STATS

“I would say I’m very fast, explosive, up and down on the wing. Energetic. Yeah, I think I can bring a lot of energy to the team.” – Jeremie Frimpong

Frimpong is a versatile, pacey player who is capable of operating in any position on the right flank.

He’s recently thrived as an advanced wing-back under Alonso at Leverkusen (see below), but it is worth noting that before the Spaniard arrived at the club in 2022, he spent most of his career as a full-back in a back four.

Above: Leverkusen’s pass map against Liverpool in November, showing Frimpong’s advanced role as a wing-back

Analysing his stats from last season, Frimpong’s attacking numbers bode well, with a total of 34 shots in the Bundesliga equating to one per game.

And while he isn’t a set-piece taker, he still produces plenty of crosses from open play, with 94. For context, only three players (Maximilian Mittelstadt, Alejandro Grimaldo and Dimitrious Giannoulis) attempted more.

Furthermore, 1.9 key passes per match in the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League (UCL) was the fourth-most of any defender.

There are certainly similarities between Frimpong and Achraf Hakimi, then, which is captured in last season’s UCL data.

To counter that, there are certain defensive concerns. After leaving Frimpong out of his Netherlands squad in 2023, Ronald Koeman said.

“He plays almost as a right winger. My right-back should be able to defend well in the first place and I have my doubts about that.” – Ronald Koeman

That said, the former Everton manager’s stance on the matter significantly shifted in an interview earlier this year:

“In the beginning, I had some doubts about him in a four-man defence, especially defensively. But in the final phase against Spain [in March’s UEFA Nations League quarter-finals] he came to play as right-back, and he did that very well at that moment.” – Ronald Koeman

WHERE FRIMPONG COULD FIT IN AT LIVERPOOL

The arrival of Frimpong throws up plenty of questions in terms of how Liverpool will set up defensively next season.

While it is likely that Frimpong and Conor Bradley will compete for a place at right-back in Slot’s XI, neither have the playmaking abilities of Alexander-Arnold, who often took up a deeper role.

Alexander-Arnold v Bradley v Frimpong in 2024/25 (league only)

Stats taken from WhoScored

Frimpong instead brings different qualities, with the capacity to go past players and thrive in one-on-one situations high up the pitch.

With Slot expected to keep playing a back four, something may need to change, then.

Perhaps by using a double pivot, rather than Ryan Gravenberch as the deep-lying midfielder behind Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, it would free up Frimpong to bomb down the flank?

In this scenario, Mohamed Salah could occupy more central areas, with Frimpong the runner outside of him.

It’s certainly a challenge for Slot, who could also adjust things on a game-by-game basis.

FINAL THOUGHTS

As evidenced by his displays at Leverkusen, Frimpong’s offensive abilities mean he is more than capable of thriving as a Fantasy asset.

To further amplify his appeal, the Liverpool rearguard should very much be on our radars following their 14 clean sheets last season, the most of any top-flight club.

And even accounting for a period of transition as Slot seeks to find the right balance with Frimpong in his XI, you’d still expect the Reds to have one of the better defences in the division.

So, with points potential at both ends of the pitch and a price of £6.0m/£6.5m likely on the cards, Frimpong could be poised to play a significant part in our five-man backlines for the season ahead.

There are other positives to highlight, too.

Frimpong’s availability has been superb in the last three seasons, having missed just three of Leverkusen’s 102 Bundesliga games.

The fact that he already knows three of his new teammates very well – Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo and Gravenberch – plus Slot of course, provides further optimism he can hit the ground running.

“Not just this season but ever since I arrived here, Jeremie has been such an important player for me, for us. He’s a great lad. He brings so much joy to the dressing room with his personality.” – Xabi Alonso on Jeremie Frimpong

It’s also worth noting that Frimpong’s experience of playing higher up the pitch could also see him provide cover for Salah, who will be absent for several weeks in the middle of next season at the Africa Cup of Nations.

While it seems sensible to allow him time to settle into life at Anfield, a solid pre-season, offering a clear indication of regular starts from the off, plus a kind opening fixture run, could therefore ensure Frimpong features heavily in the shake-up for our initial line-ups.