Former Celtic manager Neil Lennon has heaped praise on Jeremie Frimpong as the young Dutchman nears a move that will net Celtic a significant sell-on fee. The Bayer Leverkusen wingback is wanted by a number of top teams with a fee of upwards of £40m mentioned.
As reported by Glasgow World, Lennon revealed the process behind signing Frimpong as well as his initial impression of the talented youngster.
“He was brilliant for me. I saw him playing for Man City’s Under-21s at Lennoxtown and I really liked the look of him.
“It was great to see him in the flesh and it’s so much better than looking at Y Scout and watching videos. He came in and he just blew us all away with his pace and his quality – and his enthusiasm. He’s got a very infectious personality. He’s a lovely boy but he could be quite naughty at times too.
“He took the plunge to go to Germany and he has excelled and I’m really proud of him. He’s deceptive. He’s small but he’s so powerful, good on the ball and quite different from a lot of fullbacks out there. I follow his career and I hope he gets the move that he wants now.
“It will mean more money for Celtic – and that’s the model: find a young player who can enhance the team and then sell him on for a profit.
“We got a bit lucky with him and got him for about £300,000 because he was a wee bit under the radar but it worked out very well for Celtic.
“We had a few of these with Fraser Forster, Victor Wanyama and Virgil van Dyk and I always follow guys like that – but not just the Celtic lads, Hibs boys too like John McGinn and Ryan Porteous who have obviously gone on to do very well.”
Frimpong 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 Frimpong is attracting interest having played in a more advanced role, playing him as an out-and-out winger as opposed to a full-back.
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.