Liverpool have picked the WRONG man to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold

With Trent Alexander-Arnold’s Liverpool contract expiring, there has been no shortage of links to other right-backs.

The England international will move on from Anfield in summer 2025, widely expected to join Real Madrid, leaving the Reds’ long-term outlook in the position somewhat uncertain.

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Conor Bradley has proven a capable deputy for Trent over the last 18 months or so, but there are justifiable reservations over his fitness.

The club are believed to favour adding another option at right-back this summer, keeping the 21-year-old Northern Ireland international on his toes.

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Players linked range from Monaco’s Vanderson to Nottingham Forest’s Ola Aina. Others include Wesley Franca and the wildcard option of Andrea Cambiaso of Juventus.

One name who has been on the list for a long time is Jeremie Frimpong.

Jeremie Frimpong long linked with Liverpool

At one stage last summer it seemed like a given that he would move on to Anfield from Bayer Leverkusen but he opted to stay put for one more year.

Now it’s being reported that the 24-year-old Dutch international has got a €35m release clause in his contract and David Ornstein believes he is a candidate to arrive at Anfield this summer.

There is no doubt that Frimpong is a world-class performer - his 12 assists this season prove that once again - but the elephant in the room is that he’s not actually a right-back.

In fact he is probably a more suitable candidate to take over from Mohamed Salah as a wide attacker than Trent in the long term.

Frimpong is NOT a right-back

Occasionally described as a right-back, Frimpong functions as a wing-back or right-sided midfielder for Xabi Alonso’s side.

The only other right-sided "defender" he’s got much in common with is Denzel Dumfries - his international colleague - who scored two and assisted three from wing-back over two legs in the Champions League semi-finals for Inter against Barcelona.

Frimpong spends most of the time in the opposition half, hugging the touchline and often reaching the box.

He’s rarely - if ever - asked to play as an orthodox full-back these days and hasn’t played there even on a semi-regular basis since his first season at Leverkusen in 2021/22.

International manager Ronald Koeman doesn’t rate him much as a full-back either, revealing that deficiencies in his defending were causing Frimpong to be left out of the Netherlands squad.

Stylistically, he’s not got much in common with Trent either, preferring to receive the ball high up the pitch, dribble like a winger and put cutbacks into the box.

Leverkusen move from a back-four to a back-three fluidly but it’s never Frimpong ending up in the No2 spot.

Frimpong could make Liverpool more unpredictable

And with Arne Slot reducing the creative burden on the club’s full-backs this season, it’s unlikely we see a return to the marauding days of Trent and Andy Robertson marching down the wings.

A more “traditional” full-back will probably be signed but that doesn’t mean Frimpong WOULDN’T be a useful acquisition.

His signing would mean Liverpool moving to a back-three option if required, which in turn could push Mo Salah further infield - like Lionel Messi in his final few Barcelona seasons.

Frimpong could occupy the wing in a 3-4-3 or a 3-5-2, allowing the Egyptian to come into his own as a No10 behind a striker.

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So it’s not simply a case of “don’t sign Frimpong”, it’s more “don’t sign him to replace Trent”. Because on the evidence of the overwhelming majority of his senior career he cannot and will not do it.