Goals and assists from right-back: Why Liverpool signed Frimpong

At the extremity of the 2023-24 season, moments aft Bayer Leverkusen had clinched the Bundesliga rubric for the archetypal clip successful the club's 120-year history, Jeremie Frimpong wanted to hide.

The Netherlands planetary -- 1 of the faces of Leverkusen's historical unbeaten league run (P34, W28, D6, L0) -- was trying to flight the attentions of manager Xabi Alonso and teammate Edmond Tapsoba, who had made him their people for a accepted German "beer shower" during the celebrations. Frimpong had decamped to the passageway astatine the BayArena, wherever helium tried to question solace with ESPN's Bundesliga reporter, Archie Rhind-Tutt.

"Sorry astir the smell, it's the beer," the wing-back grinned arsenic the TV cameras started rolling. The consequent four-minute interview went viral, with Frimpong's exuberant persona earning him plentifulness of admirers successful Germany and beyond. "He's ever been a larger-than-life quality whenever I've spoken to him," Rhind-Tutt tells ESPN. "He's conscionable 1 of those radical wherever you clasp the mic determination arsenic overmuch arsenic imaginable and past you conscionable fto them talk."

From adjacent season, Frimpong volition beryllium doing his talking connected the transportation astatine Anfield, aft Liverpool activated the €35 cardinal merchandise clause successful his Leverkusen contract. The 24-year-old has signed a five-year woody with the Premier League champions, becoming Arne Slot's archetypal signing of the summer, and helium has immoderate large boots to capable arsenic helium volition measurement into the right-back presumption antecedently occupied by section leader Trent Alexander-Arnold.

"His gait is blistering"

Liverpool were forced to plug the void near by Alexander-Arnold, who is expected to articulation Real Madrid connected a escaped transportation erstwhile his declaration expires. Since making his first-team debut successful 2016, the 26-year-old has redefined what it means to beryllium a right-back astatine the elite level, making much than 350 appearances for Liverpool and winning 8 large honors.

Fellow academy merchandise Conor Bradley has impressed arsenic Alexander-Arnold's lawman implicit the past 2 seasons, and Liverpool reaffirmed their committedness to the 21-year-old by handing him a caller four-year declaration past week, but with specified small acquisition of playing astatine the highest level, helium needed help. It is expected that Frimpong and Bradley volition vie for a spot successful Slot's XI adjacent season, though neither is simply a like-for-like replacement for Alexander-Arnold.

"In possession, Frimpong mightiness deficiency Alexander-Arnold's composure connected the ball, oregon the imaginativeness to play line-breaking passes done the middle, but helium compensates with aboriginal deliveries into abstraction and an quality to find teammates drifting into wide channels with abbreviated passes," says erstwhile scout Tor-Kristian Karlsen.

"At Liverpool, Frimpong's instinct to motorboat attacks astatine the earliest accidental should align good with Slot's penchant for accelerated transitions. Thus, his accomplishment could people a flimsy displacement towards an adjacent much direct, high-tempo benignant connected the close flank -- alternatively than deliberate, drawn-out build-up play."

Still, Frimpong ticks a batch of boxes for Liverpool, with his age, pedigree and comparatively debased transportation interest making him an irresistible marketplace opportunity. His presumption arsenic a "homegrown" subordinate nether UEFA regulations -- having been astatine Manchester City's academy from the property of 9 -- besides made him an charismatic proposition.

In fact, Liverpool's involvement successful Frimpong dates backmost much than a decade, with the Reds having been among his galore suitors astatine academy level. In the end, City's grooming basal was person and that proved a compelling origin successful his decision; the wing-back spent adjacent to a decennary astatine the nine earlier joining Celtic for £300,000 successful September 2019.

The aged 18, helium went connected to marque 51 appearances for the Scottish side, winning the treble successful 2019-20 and earning himself a €4 cardinal determination to Leverkusen successful January 2021. But it was lone during his clip successful Germany that Frimpong's prima truly started to rise.

"He's got a batch to his crippled going forward," Rhind-Tutt tells ESPN. "He's susceptible of a trick; truthful assured successful information that during 1 crippled this season, helium did 1 instrumentality which I asked him about, and helium said: 'Oh, I was conscionable copying what Ryan [Gravenberch] did [for Liverpool] yesterday!'

"His gait is blistering. It's a limb going guardant and going backwards, arsenic good successful presumption of recovering the ball. He's had accusations levelled astatine him earlier that he's not bully capable defensively, but erstwhile he's winning the shot backmost for his team, he's precise passionate. He's been playing successful a precise attacking squad and truthful he's people been attacking a lot. He's besides discovered a knack of being successful the close spot astatine the close clip successful the box."

Indeed, it is Frimpong's productivity going guardant that has enactment him connected the radar of galore of Europe's apical clubs, with the defender having registered an awesome 30 goals and 44 assists crossed his 190 appearances for Leverkusen.

Operating from the right-flank, Frimpong has chiefly been deployed successful beforehand of Alonso's preferred three-man defence and has been adjacent to an ever-present successful the starting XI since the erstwhile Liverpool midfielder took complaint astatine the nine successful October 2022.

"Since I got present for the archetypal time, since the archetypal day, Jeremie has been a cardinal subordinate for america and for myself," Alonso said earlier past season's Europa League final, which Leverkusen yet mislaid 3-0 to Atalanta -- their lone decision of the play successful immoderate competition. "He's a large guy. He brings a batch of joyousness to the locker room. So you request to support him having this joy. But helium has besides go much mature."

While Frimpong's crippled had developed enormously nether Alonso, determination are inactive wide areas for improvement. But, with Slot having already helped alteration the fortunes of planetary teammates Gravenberch and Cody Gakpo, the Liverpool brag volition backmost himself to further beforehand Frimpong's skillset.

Expert view

ESPN's nonmigratory scout Tor-Kristian Karlsen examines what makes Frimpong tick.

Frimpong's determination signals a perchance absorbing tactical pivot from Slot. In opposition to Alexander-Arnold's much restrained, possession-oriented style, the Dutch manager has present picked an out-and-out flying-machine down the close flank.

At Leverkusen, Frimpong thrived arsenic a close wing-back successful Alonso's fluid 3-4-3 strategy -- a setup that maximizes the interaction of attacking full-backs and removes portion of their antiaircraft responsibilities -- and his numbers talk for themselves. In summation to his pace, Frimpong is an elite dribbler and maintains his composure and precision adjacent astatine afloat speed.

Averaging 4.6 touches successful the absorption container per 90 minutes, with a earthy impulse to tally successful down opposing full-backs, helium often functions much similar an auxiliary wide guardant than a accepted wing-back (as his heatmap supra shows), arriving astatine the close infinitesimal for a near-post decorativeness oregon cutback.

Frimpong is besides unsafe done the mediate erstwhile making "underlapping" runs into cardinal areas and helium has shown the capableness to drift wrong erstwhile the winger stays wide. This is simply a peculiarly utile instrumentality against compact defenses.

While Frimpong's violative output is well-documented, the tactical situation lies successful however his irrepressible attacking instinct volition beryllium balanced defensively. At Leverkusen, his precocious positioning was mitigated by a three-man backline that allowed the right-sided centre-back to displacement wide and screen him.

At Liverpool, with Slot expected to support playing a backmost four, thing whitethorn request to change. Either a pivot midfielder volition occasionally driblet into the backline, oregon the left-back volition tuck successful from the other flank, oregon 1 of the centre-backs volition displacement across. Alternatively, Slot whitethorn simply trust connected Frimpong's elite betterment velocity and positional consciousness to neutralise the risk.

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Nicol 'absolutely disgusted' by Liverpool fans booing Alexander-Arnold

Steve Nicol reacts to Trent Alexander-Arnold being booed astatine Anfield during Liverpool's gully with Arsenal.

No alien to overcoming doubts

While Alexander-Arnold's playmaking abilities from right-back are unparalleled, determination is nary uncertainty Frimpong has the imaginable to beryllium a potent caller limb successful Liverpool's arsenal, and immoderate of his numbers comparison favorably with those of his predecessor.

In presumption of accuracy of passing, Frimpong (84%) really outstrips Alexander-Arnold (77.9%). Frimpong besides has a amended tackle occurrence complaint (54.3%, compared to 39.7%) than the England planetary this term, portion making a akin magnitude of passes successful the last 3rd of the transportation (368, compared to 370).

Alexander-Arnold's superiority arsenic a creator is reflected successful the information helium has made 45 cardinal passes this season, creating 14 large chances, portion Frimpong made conscionable 25 cardinal passes and created six large chances.

With Alexander-Arnold's incisive passing apt to beryllium a immense miss, Liverpool whitethorn person to look elsewhere successful the squad for a caller originative fulcrum. But Frimpong already has a way grounds of defying expectations, having flooded archetypal doubts from Netherlands brag Ronald Koeman to found himself arsenic a valued subordinate of the nationalist team.

Reflecting connected Frimpong's abilities successful an interrogation with ESPN's Goodmorning Eredivisie amusement past week, Koeman said: "In the beginning, I had immoderate doubts astir him successful a four-man defense, particularly defensively. But successful the last signifier against Spain [in March's UEFA Nations League quarterfinals] helium came to play arsenic right-back, and helium did that precise good astatine that moment.

"You privation each subordinate to play shot based connected his quality. It is wide that Liverpool plays attacking, besides with full-backs. Alexander-Arnold is besides precise attacking, but helium plays much often connected the inside. Jeremie should prime that up, due to the fact that astatine Leverkusen helium plays successful a five-man defense. Because past helium doesn't person to defend, helium tin enactment unit connected the opponents' full-back and helium tin play close winger successful possession of the ball."

With Liverpool's prima antheral Mohamed Salah apt to miss a chunk of adjacent season's enactment owed to the Africa Cup of Nations, which kicks disconnected connected Dec. 21, Frimpong could adjacent beryllium fixed the accidental to play successful a much precocious relation for an extended spell, with his tactical versatility different of the features that makes him specified a invaluable addition.

A cleanable fit?

While it could instrumentality immoderate clip for Frimpong to set to Slot's demands and get up to velocity with the rigors of the Premier League, Liverpool's sizable Dutch contingent should, astatine least, marque it easier for the 24-year-old to furniture successful connected Merseyside. In summation to Slot himself, there's Gakpo, Gravenberch and club-captain Virgil van Dijk who hail from the Netherlands and volition beryllium connected manus to marque Frimpong's modulation much seamless -- though past dictates Liverpool's newest enlistee won't person immoderate problems integrating with Slot's squad.

"He's ever had this, I'd telephone it a playground aura to him," Rhind-Tutt says. "I mean that successful presumption of erstwhile he's telling you astir stuff, it's arsenic if he's conscionable benignant of leaning up against the partition being like: 'You heard what's happened? I've got the gossip.' He's a bully feline arsenic well. When you talk to much players successful the dressing room, they're like: 'Oh yeah, he's my champion mate.' I'm like, 'how galore champion mates does helium have?'"

Indeed, anyone seeking a snapshot of Frimpong's quality request lone look arsenic acold arsenic a clip shared by the Netherlands nationalist squad connected societal media successful March. The video shows the defender greeting adjacent person and caller Liverpool teammate Gravenberch with the Scouse operation "Alright, la?"

Having already got the section dialect down -- and, of course, having shown himself to beryllium 1 of the Bundesliga's astir breathtaking talents -- Frimpong and Liverpool could conscionable beryllium to beryllium the cleanable fit.