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Jeremie Frimpong of Bayer Leverkusen(Image: Jörg Schüler/Bayer 04 Leverkusen via Getty Images)

Jeremie Frimpong knew it was time to leave Manchester City when he went to club chiefs to discuss the possibility of extending his stay at the Etihad.

The Dutch international spent nine years at the City Football Academy after joining the eight-time Premier League winners in 2010.

But despite progressing through City's ranks and featuring in the FA Youth Cup, UEFA Youth League and Premier League 2, Frimpong failed to make an appearance for the first team.



And he knew it was the right time to leave the club in 2019 when talks with City officials over a new contract alerted the full-back to the fact that several players were ahead of him in the queue to audition for a spot in Pep Guardiola's first team.

Recalling his departure from City in an interview with SPORTbible last year, Frimpong said: “I kept playing [an age group] down and I think when I was under-23’s at City, I remember going in for a new contract and that’s when I knew my path at City was different.

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"They were talking about how I couldn’t get into the team and were comparing me to other players in the academy that were doing better than me.

I thought, ‘Yeah, I clearly don’t have a future here,’ so I’ve got to take a different step.

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“I remember going to that meeting and he was saying, ‘You’re too small,’ and it’ll be too physical.

That’s when I was thinking, ‘Oh s***, where am I gonna go?’."

Frimpong departed City in the summer of 2019 to join Scottish Premiership giants Celtic, who paid an initial £350,000 for the defender.

But after tremendous success at Parkhead, including in the 19/20 domestic treble, Celtic are said to have had to cough up further money for Frimpong.

However, the Scots' investment was more than worthwhile, as it netted them a reported £10m fee for Frimpong when he was sold to Bayer Leverkusen in 2021 after just 51 appearances in Scotland.

Since moving to the Bundesliga, Frimpong has gone from strength to strength and last year was part of the Leverkusen side that won the Bundesliga and the DFB Pokal, as well as reaching the Europa League final.

Next on Frimpong's journey could be a move to Anfield, with reports across the continent this week claiming the Reds are interested in the Dutchman.

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It is understood that Frimpong has a £30m release clause in his contract at the BayArena and therefore could be a possible replacement at Liverpool for the outgoing Trent Alexander-Arnold this summer.


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