After a promising first season at Manchester United, Erik ten Hag’s side seem to have lost their identity, as reflected by their exit from the UEFA Champions League and Carabao Cup already.
The Red Devils have also struggled for consistency in the Premier League, which has put them in sixth place after 16 matches, winning nine and losing seven! United are also the only team in the top flight to have not drawn a game this season in the league.
A lack of output in attack has seen them find it difficult to assert any dominance, netting just 18 goals, half of Liverpool’s tally. With that in mind, Ten Hag may look to acquire a fellow Dutch attacking full-back.
Man Utd transfers latest – Jeremie Frimpong
Jeremie Frimpong to Manchester United has been a well-reported transfer rumour over the last year, and Football Transfers has confirmed that the Red Devils’ boss admires the Bayer Leverkusen star.
However, the Netherlands international favours a move to Arsenal, as Mikel Arteta is also interested in signing the full-back.
The Bundesliga defender has a £34m release clause, which will be activated in the summer, meaning that any side that purchases Frimpong will have secured themselves a bargain.
Jeremie Frimpong’s style of play
Man United fans will be apprehensive about their club potentially signing an ex-Manchester City academy player from the Bundesliga, however, unlike the frozen-out winger Jadon Sancho, Frimpong would not join the side with an extraordinary price tag and expectation.
Despite them both being wide players with technical quality, their profile is quite the opposite, with the Leverkusen attacking full-back possessing superior speed and acceleration, which has been described as “breathtaking” by football scout Antonio Mango.
Xabi Alonso has deployed Frimpong as a right-wing back in a three-back variant this season, and the dynamic speedster has rewarded the boss with an excellent attacking output.
Across 20 games in all competitions, the number 30 has scored six goals and registered nine assists. Those stats show that attacking is his biggest strength and at the forefront of his mind, but the below table shows just how dangerous he actually is going forward.
Successful take-ons
1.81
Top 6%
Carries into penalty area
2.60
Top 1%
Shots total
1.81
Top 6%
Key passes
1.73
Top 16%
Touches (Att pen)
7.32
Top 1%
The signing of Frimpong would also bring the best out of Antony, who has struggled to form a telepathic relationship with Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Diogo Dalot. With all the attacking threat highlighted by the stats just shown, the 23-year-old's width would provide the Brazilian with more space to cut inside onto his much stronger left foot, or the option to play the flying wing-back in on the overlap/underlap.
At just £34m, Ten must go all out on Frimpong. Not only would they solve their current right-back issues and make Ten Hag’s tactics more flexible, but they would also be signing one of the most promising stars in Europe.
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The club have undoubtedly been burned by the £73m signing of Sancho from the Bundesliga in 2021 – with the Englishman currently exiled after also contributing just 12 goals and six assists in 82 games for the club to date – yet Frimpong could well represent an even more exciting option on the flanks.
With the latter man – who boasts 46 goal involvements from 115 games for Leverkusen – currently thriving, Ten Hag would no doubt benefit from such an in-form addition.