Ex-Celtic boss raves over Liverpool’s new £30m signing after spotting him in bounce game | OneFootball

One of Liverpool’s newest additions to the squad has received glowing praise from one of the first managers to believe in him – and the story of his discovery is the kind of tale supporters will love.

Jeremie Frimpong arrived at Anfield this summer for a fee of £30 million, signing from Bundesliga runners-up Bayer Leverkusen.

But according to Neil Lennon, it all started with a bounce game against Manchester City’s Under-21s.

Speaking on the Open Goal Podcast, the former Celtic boss recalled the moment he first laid eyes on the Dutchman: “Frimpong, I got him for £250k! And now he’s signing for Liverpool for £30 million.

“We played a bounce game, Man City brought an Under-21s team up. I went down to watch it and just saw this kid and was just like, ‘Oh, he’s good!’”

The right-back went on to help Celtic secure a domestic treble before his switch to Germany in 2021.

Frimpong’s time at Leverkusen was a roaring success – winning the Bundesliga in 2023/24 and finishing runners-up last term.

Lennon added: “Then he got into the team and a year later he’s off to Leverkusen. Look what he’s done out there, won the league, won the double.

“Going out there as a young man to Germany takes a bit of b****ks but he’s excelled and now he’s going to the Premier League champions. I’m so happy for him.”

Frimpong ready to compete for Liverpool right-back role

Picture via @LFC on X

The 24-year-old will face fierce competition at Liverpool, where Conor Bradley is also pushing to start following the exit of Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid.

Our Dutch right-back arrives off the back of a 48-game campaign with Leverkusen, where he registered 5 goals and 12 assists.

Despite a scathing review from Steve Nicol, Neil Lennon’s comments give further insight into the mentality that has helped our new signing thrive across three different countries.

Liverpool have also signed Florian Wirtz from the same Leverkusen side Frimpong starred in, and the pair have already shown how great their bond is on and off the pitch.

But our latest right-sided arrival looks every bit ready to stake a claim in Arne Slot’s plans – especially given how highly his former coach rates him.

“In training, he was ridiculous,” Lennon said. “Me and John Kennedy were looking at each other going: ‘F**king hell, wow!’”

You can watch Lennon’s comments on Frimpong via The Open Goal Podcast on YouTube:

Join our channel of readers on WhatsApp to get the day’s top stories straight to your mobile

Liverpool has lost a great – EOTK’s tribute to Willie Stevenson, one of Shankly’s best