Big market value winner
On Monday, Bayer Leverkusen announced that they had signed the Brazilian national team right-back Arthur from América. That transfer, in turn, led to speculations that Dutch wing-back Jeremie Frimpong could be sold in the summer. The 22-year-old Dutch national team player has been pushing for a move for some time, and there have been first positive talks with Manchester United already.
Reports from England have suggested that Manchester United have been interested in some time in the right-back, who is under contract until 2025 in Leverkusen. Sky reported that representatives of the Premier League club have held talks with Frimpong’s agency Prolific Sports Group. Leverkusen signed Frimpong for just €11m from Celtic and could now make a massive profit on the right-back.
Update on Jeremie Frimpong to Man Utd:
I’ve been told there has been no official offer from the English club yet but if they are intent on signing the defender he’ll likely cost more than £50m.
Leverkusen under no pressure to sell + Alonso is a big fan.
— Stefan Bienkowski (@SBienkowski) April 4, 2023
Sky reported that initial talks were positive and added that Leverkusen would be willing to sell Frimpong for around €40m. Transfermarkt, however, understands that Leverkusen will ask for at least £50m (€57m) and that the club is not in a hurry to sell the player. A fee in that category would make Frimpong the second most expensive outgoing transfer in club history. Frimpong saw his market value upgraded from €25m to €35m in the recent Bundesliga market value update—the Dutch national team wing-back was one of the biggest winners of the update.
Bellingham, Kolo Muani & Co. – The biggest winners of the Bundesliga update
Frimpong to Man United? – Highest-scoring defender in Europe
It is not a surprise that clubs like Man United are now interested in the Dutch wing-back. Frimpong leads all defenders in Europe’s top 5 leagues by being involved in 17 goals across 36 games (overview). Frimpong was among the scorers in Leverkusen’s 3-0 victory over Schalke on the weekend.
Frimpong has also been one of the most progressive players in the Bundesliga this season. According to Bundesliga.com, the Dutchman has led the German first division with 834 sprints and has been the fifth-fastest player with a top speed of 36km/h. Those were not the only numbers that have made Frimpong a standout player this season. The 22-year-old is also 14th in the league, with 278 duels won and 1768 intensive runs completed.
Furthermore, the wing-back has been instrumental in an incredible resurgence under head coach Xabi Alonso. Thanks to performances by Frimpong and Co., Leverkusen have been the most in-form team in Germany and are now seventh, just seven points behind a Champions League spot. Qualifying for the Champions League would be an enormous achievement for Die Werkself, and it will be interesting to see whether that will impact the club’s ambitions regarding Frimpong’s future.
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