Bayer Leverkusen are a step away from winning their first-ever Bundesliga title. After finishing runners-up on five different occasions, the Black and Reds will hoist the coveted Meisterschale if they beat Werder Bremen on Sunday.
While the leadership of Xabi Alonso has been crucial, some individual players have stood out. One of them is Jeremie Frimpong.
Born to Ghanaian parents in Amsterdam, the 23-year-old has had a steady rise to the top. The right-back battled with Phil Foden at Manchester City’s youth academy before making a switch to Celtic’s first team in 2019.
In his first season, he was voted Celtic’s best young player as the club raced to a 51st Scottish Premiership trophy. After one and a half seasons with the Celts, the former Man City academy graduate joined Leverkusen, looking to compete in a bigger competition.
Frimpong made seven goal contributions in his first two Bundesliga seasons but really came alive in the 2022/23 campaign, making 15 goal contributions in 34 matches as his team finished 6th on the league log.
This season, he has also made 15 goal contributions in the league, scoring eight goals and seven assists in fewer matches (26). He ranks joint third for goals and joint third in assists this season, something that is usually unheard of for a defender.
These three 🖤❤️@JeremieFrimpong @12Tapsoba @boniface_jrn | #B04WHU pic.twitter.com/UhqtT2YzHU
— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) April 10, 2024
Under Xabi Alonso’s 3-4-2-1 system, Frimpong plays as a right-wing back with license to provide width in attack. This move has been a masterstroke, highlighting Frimpong’s supreme qualities going forward.
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He ranks first in the league in carries into the penalty area (60) and is second in progressive carries (131). Progressive carries are a metric that describes any movement of the ball by a player which is greater than five metres from where they received the ball.
Leverkusen are also in the running for the DFB Pokal and the Europa League trophies, a prospective treble.
“Of course, I’ve thought [about the Treble], but it’s going to be very difficult to win the Europa League, the Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal,” Frimpong told Eurosport.
“It’s all high level and going to be very difficult, but who doesn’t want to win the Treble? You always have the ‘never give up’ mentality which is important. It’s something within our team – patience. When there’s patience, it comes.”
Frimpong is set to be a league champion once again and he may do it as one of the most exciting attacking full-backs in Europe.