Why Jeremie Frimpong is READY to join Liverpool

Jeremie Frimpong is world-class. Let's get that out of the way first.

He's been performing at an elite level for years and has been Xabi Alonso's best player at Bayer Leverkusen alongside Florian Wirtz.

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Frimpong's role in the Bundesliga winning title campaign last season was crucial. He's setting new heights for wing-backs in the way he contributes both going forward and defensively.

And it feels like now is the time for Liverpool to finally bring him to the club. A move that should have happened years ago.

The Bayer Leverkusen star recently revealed in an interview with Rising Ballers that when he was first spotted at grassroots level, he wanted to join Liverpool.

However, that move never materialised because the distance to travel to the Reds was too much for his family. Instead, Frimpong ended up at Manchester City.

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Now as confirmed by Fabrizio Romano Liverpool are interested in his services and seriously considering Frimpong as a potential player to fill the void left behind by Trent Alexander-Arnold.

With a €35m release clause, Frimpong is an absolute bargain and he screams like an FSG signing. At that price bringing in a world-class talent of his ilk is a no brainer - even if there are question marks.

Most notably when it comes to his defending. But this isn't necessarily as big of an issue as people make it out to be.

Why Jeremie Frimpong is a BETTER defender than you think

Defending isn't just about winning your duels and making tackles, it's about reading the game - making recovery runs and interceptions.

In fact the best defenders are those who don't have to force themselves into making challenges but who can thwart the opposition with recoveries and interceptions.

Frimpong's tackles ratio is admittedly low. But that's because he players really far advanced for Leverkusen - almost as a winger.

His defensive duties are not that of a traditional right-back. Nonetheless, because of his sheer speed and the abundance of energy he has on the pitch - he's still very effective at tracking back and contributing defensively in Alonso's system.

So while his volume is low - winning 0.93 tackles per 90 in comparison to Trent Alexander-Arnold (1.92) and Conor Bradley (1.26) his tackle success rate is actually better than both of them at 53.6% with neither of the Liverpool duo even able to reach 50%.

It's hard to judge Frimpong as a defender because he's not really tasked with that role for Leverkusen. On average, he makes 0.32 interceptions per 90 - which is low.

But it's also not significantly more than Bradley (0.48) so there is not that much separating him already from the Liverpool player who would provide competition for him.

Naturally, Bradley makes a bit more recoveries averaging around eight per 90 minutes, meanwhile Frimpong's recovery rate is around five per 90 minutes this season.

Crucially though both of them make over 40% of their recoveries in the opposition's half of the pitch.

Obviously, there is a question mark whether Frimpong would be able to play in a back four at Liverpool. Slot might have to tweak his tactics a little bit.

Frimpong is on the smaller side at 1.71 metres. He's not strong and may struggle comping up against more physically capable opponents.

But at the same time, his speed and the intensity of his runs could make up for all of that. No one has made more sprints in the Bundesliga this season (983) and he also ranks in the top 10 players for top speed (36.34km/h).

Those numbers could translate really well in Slot's side. There's still a question mark about how good of a defender he can be, but it's certainly better than what most people will have you believe.

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Plus, any question marks over his defending negate the offensive qualities that he brings to the table. Going forward, Frimpong is world-class and if he's available around £30m, he would be an absolute bargain.