Former Celtic youngster Jeremie Frimpong showed his class on the Champions League stage as two assists helped his Bayer Leverkusen side down Atletico Madrid in Germany. The 21-year-old joined Leverkusen in January 2021 after an impressive spell with Celtic; albeit, he was only there for 18 months.
The move has paid dividends for both Celtic and the player as he has been able to push on after struggling to see a path under Neil Lennon in the 2020/21 season. Now, he is attracting interest with powerful running down the right hand side. Clearly new boss Gerardo Seoane fancies Frimpong in a more advanced role, playing him as an out-and-out winger as opposed to a full-back.
GOAL! Andrich . #Leverkusen 1×0 #Atléti#UCL | #ChampionsLeague | #B04Atleti | #CasaDaChampions
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— UCL-gols (@GolsUcl) September 13, 2022
GOAL! Diaby. #Leverkusen 2×0 #Atléti#UCL | #ChampionsLeague | #B04Atleti | #CasaDaChampions
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— UCL-gols (@GolsUcl) September 13, 2022
The player was often found wanting when doubled up on in a defensive setting with raw, attacking abilities going forward. It was no surprise that clubs moved quickly for him and he will likely be the subject of more interest in the future as Leverkusen perform in the Champions League.
Celtic, who paid £350,000 for the players services from Manchester City, received an offer they couldn’t refuse for Frimpong and it was off to the Bundesliga and Bayer Leverkusen for Jeremie for a fee on £13m. Even with a sell on clause due to City, Celtic will likely net a tidy sum on Frimpong’s next move.
How many good players has both Lennon and Rodgers wasted for us?
I think Frimpong had to get out of Scotland for the sake of his knees and or legs. It was open season on the wee man. He got zero protection from Scottish refs. The game v Motherwell when Andrew Dallas only booked Devante Cole for an offence worthy of 5 red cards. The wee man must have thought WTF is going on here. Alan Power v Killie too, not even a free kick.
His career would have been ended here.