Happy birthday to… Jeremie Frimpong
Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong, renowned for his offensive right-back skills, is celebrating his 23rd birthday. He has been recognised by American sports network ESPN as one of the top ten right-backs of the year. Other famous names in this list include Achraf Hakimi, Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker, Reece James, Jules Jounde, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joao Cancelo, Dani Carvajal and Italy’s Giovanni Di Lorenzo.
The young Dutch-Ghanaian player made his first appearance in the national team under the guidance of Ronald Koeman. Louis Van Gaal had earlier included him in the team selection for the World Cup in Qatar.
Frimpong, known for his dynamic and powerful game, has already scored four goals in the 2023-24 Bundesliga season. His club, Bayer Leverkusen is unquestionably making a strong impact on the leaderboard with its ambitions of climbing to the top. A mention must be reserved for the impressive coaching efforts of Xabi Alonso, with only Bayern scoring more goals this season.
On the eighth day of the season against Wolfsburg, Frimpong put in a remarkable performance. He scored one goal and set up his teammate Grimaldo for the winning goal. He participated with a strong finish against Werder Bremen, showing his offensive prowess.
Top European clubs are certainly taking note of his performance. Past interest was shown by Roma under the leadership of Paulo Fonseca. Mourinho also faced him in the Europa League semi-finals. Real Madrid has also reportedly shown interest.
However, the most serious offer, as per German tabloid Bild, came from Manchester United, who were allegedly ready to put forth €50m. Bayer Leverkusen acquired Frimpong from Celtic two and a half years ago for a sum of €11m.
Two months ago, Leverkusen extended his contract till 2028. “Jeremie Frimpong has not only become an extremely popular figure in our team over the past few years. He is currently one of the best Bundesliga players in his offensive right-back role. The contract extension underscores Jeremie’s importance to our Werkself”, said Simon Rolfes, Bayer 04’s Sporting Director.
Frimpong expressed his pleasure, “A lot has happened since then, we have experienced great things and continued to improve as a team. It’s a lot of fun to be part of this team”.