Collymore’s column: Frimpong deal would be brilliant for Liverpool, Slot handed Trent situation poorly, Man United-Tottenham prediction, and more | OneFootball

In his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, former Aston Villa and Liverpool striker Stan Collymore discusses some of football’s biggest talking points, including transfer moves for Dean Huijsen and Jeremie Frimpong, Trent Alexander-Arnold being booed by Liverpool fans, the Europa League and UEFA Conference League finals, and more.

Dean Huijsen to Real Madrid is sad for the Premier League

Dean Huijsen warming up for Bournemouth before the Arsenal game (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

It goes to show the strength of the Premier League that a player can go from Bournemouth to Real Madrid. In the past, it would often be the case that someone like Dean Huijsen would move to a top six clubs in England, spent 2-3 years there before joining a Real Madrid or Barcelona.

It would be sad news for the Premier League if Huijsen moves to Dean Huijsen. He is a very accomplished defender, and has had an excellent season with Bournemouth under a very good manager – and on Andoni Iraola, it would not surprise me if he made a similar move in the coming years, as I’m sure there are big clubs in Spain that would want to hire him.

Huijsen’s situation is the same as Trent Alexander-Arnold – if Real Madrid come knocking, you usually only get one opportunity to make the move. Nobody can begrudge him making that move over joining someone like Chelsea or Liverpool.

Jeremie Frimpong would be an excellent signing for Liverpool

Jeremie Frimpong in action for Bayer Leverkusen (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

I think it is necessary for Liverpool to sign a new right-back this summer with Trent leaving, given that Conor Bradley has had numerous injury problems. And although he has had a good start to his Premier League career, it remains to be seen whether he goes on to become a great player. I don’t think he is quite yet at the level to replace Trent on a full-time basis.

Jeremie Frimpong would be an excellent signing, I will love that deal if it comes off – and shoutout to Celtic who will get a nice sell-on if the deal does go through. The ability to have a full-back that is so good at getting forward is important, and the fact that Liverpool have made their move already is very smart.

I think he will excel at Liverpool. He’s quick, gets forward and is good defensively too. He also fits the club profile, so he should be a resounding success.

Arne Slot was too cocky with Trent Alexander-Arnold situation

Trent Alexander-Arnold celebrates Liverpool’s title victory (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

This whole Trent Alexander-Arnold situation from last weekend is on Arne Slot. I understand that he wanted to win against Arsenal, but there was a political game that should have been played. In my opinion, he was too cocky – and it’s the first time that he has been like that since he became Liverpool manager.

Perhaps it was over-confidence from winning the Premier League title in his first time, and thus cementing himself in Liverpool folklore. But he should have focused on picking players that he will have in his squad next season, and Trent is obviously someone that won’t be as he is going to Real Madrid. Slot will probably learn from this situation and go about it differently in the future if a similar situation arises again.

I have no problem with Liverpool supporters being unhappy at Trent leaving, and thinking that it is the wrong move for him to make. But booing him is a big no-no, and it goes against the club’s You’ll Never Walk Alone motto. A player wearing the red of Liverpool should not be booed by his own supporters. Overall, it was not a good look.

Dubai trip is not a good look for Liverpool

The Liverpool squad jetted off to Dubai earlier this week for warm weather training (Photo by Getty Images)

Liverpool as a football club has been built on ruthless winning, so this trip to Dubai is nonsense. There was no need to go away for warm weather training, considering the weather is already lovely in England at this time of the year. They could have gone anywhere in the country for a training camp, and had a few meals together rather than travelling half way across the world.

The videos of Arne Slot at Ocean Beach and the players too with the partying vibe, these don’t look great for the credibility of the Premier League. Yes, Liverpool don’t have anything else to play for, but they still have two games to go. And the first of those is against Brighton this weekend, who are in with a chance of finishing inside the European places.

Had this been an inverse situation where a rival of Liverpool’s had already won the league, their players were off partying and celebrating but they had upcoming matches that affected where Liverpool could finish in the table, I think their supporters would be very unhappy – and rightfully so.

Premier League need to change their offside advantage rules

Taiwo Awoniyi receives treatment during Nottingham Forest’s 2-2 draw against Leicester (Photo by Getty Images)

Referees exist so that the rules of football are enforced. And when it is a clear infringement, play should be stopped immediately. I fail to see what is so different about these offside situations. There can be some leeway if it is a very marginal decision, but this situation with Taiwo Awoniyi was not that – he was clearly offside.

For 100+ years, referees would blow as soon as an infringement occurred – and it worked with very little problems. It’s not acceptable that these situations are arising where play is allowed to continue despite a clear offside, and then players are picking up injuries during this phase of play. It happened with Tyrone Mings against Newcastle when he tore his ACL, and it’s happened again with Awoniyi.

Nobody should have to be placed into an induced coma as a result of an incident that took place during a clear and obvious offside. I understand that the Premier League’s stance on these offsides is a discretionary thing, but they need to look at it for next season – these incidents cannot continue to happen.

Chelsea are favourites for top 5 despite Newcastle defeat

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca during the win vs Fulham (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

I would still consider Chelsea as favourites to qualify for next season’s Champions League alongside Liverpool, Arsenal, Newcastle and Man City. They’ve got Man United and Nottingham Forest to play in their last two matches, and if they win tonight, they know what they need to do when they go to the City Ground next weekend.

Qualifying for the Champions League would be an important step for Chelsea in their project, and they can judge where they are based on their performance in the competition next season – if they get there.

In pre-season, Aston Villa would have been nervous about their final two matches, but given the circumstances, they will be confident of picking up wins against Tottenham and Man United. But it comes down to Chelsea as to whether they qualify for the Champions League again, as it is still in their hands.

It would not be the end of the world if Aston Villa missed out, as the Europa League is a competition that they are more than capable of winning – as has been shown this season with Tottenham and Man United reaching the final. And although Forest are on course to miss out, but even if they do, it has been an excellent season. And now that they have secured European football, it is a major success for them.

Jim Ratcliffe needs to change his ways at Man United

Jason Wilcox, Technical Director of Manchester United, and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Minority Shareholder of Manchester United (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

It feels like Jim Ratcliffe has taken things away from people that need it the most at Man United, rather than focusing on the important things, which is selling players to raise money and get wages off the books. There is a feeling that he is frittering away at the resources that were built up during the Sir Alex Ferguson era.

The optics of Ratcliffe’s latest decision is awful. Cutting back the number of tickets that players can claim for their family and friends for the Europa League final is ludicrous, and it is mean-spirited. A final is a joyous occasion, but this puts a dampener on it for Man United.

The Ratcliffe era at Man United has been focused on this penny-pinching attitude, and it is turning supporters against the club – I have already seen some online supporters calling for Sheikh Jassim to come back. And if things continue in this vein, there will continue to be more pressure on the board – and most of it won’t be for the Glazers, it’ll be for Ratcliffe and his people.

Ratcliffe needs to change how he is operating things at Old Trafford. The credit that he received upon arriving at Man United has been burnt through already, so he needs to start showing goodwill to the club’s staff, and also supporters.

My Europa League and UEFA Conference League predictions

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou (Photo by Getty Images)

I can see both finals going to extra time. In the Europa League, I could very easily see it ending 2-2 or 3-3 after 90 minutes because there is so much uncertainty surrounding how Tottenham and Man United will perform in Bilbao. Both teams have injuries, and because those that are available will be desperate not to sustain knocks in the build-up, they could be caught cold.

It could very much be a toss of a coin for who win – but if I stick my neck out, I think Tottenham will take it because they have got the better of Man United in the previous three meetings this season.

The Chelsea-Betis final in the UEFA Conference League will be much closer than people think. I can see the difference being the odd goal, but although Betis have players like Antony and Isco in top form, I can see Enzo Maresca’s side taking the win due to their attacking talent.