A reasonably cheap release clause and favourable payment terms is likely to tempt Mikel Arteta into trying to secure Jeremie Frimpong for Arsenal next summer.
The player, as with many of his colleagues, is enjoying a stunning campaign under Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen.
At present, they remain top of the Bundesliga table ahead of Bayern Munich, another club apparently interested in Frimpong’s services, by two points.
Fabrizio Romano, writing in his exclusive Daily Briefing for CaughtOffside, noted what a great opportunity this could be for Arsenal or any other interested club to secure Frimpong’s services.
‘Jeremie Frimpong has scored five goals and distributed seven assists at the start of what’s turning into a great season for him and for Bayer Leverkusen,’ he wrote.
‘His contract does have a release clause of €40m with favourable payment terms, so there is a real opportunity for clubs to acquire this right-back. He’s doing very well and many clubs already have him in their sights.
‘This is why, from what I’m hearing, a move in the summer transfer window is very likely. It’s also important to say that the release clause is not valid in January, only in the summer.
‘Arsenal have been tracking him for a long time, the same with Bayern, and both clubs are very well informed on the situation. Barcelona, before signing Joao Cancelo, had also been tracking Frimpong but are now very happy with their current set-up.
‘Keep an eye on this one because this release clause could make this really interesting.’
Of course, the Gunners interest in the player throws up an interesting scenario with the likes of Jurrien Timber and Takehiro Tomiyasu.
As a right-back of some note, it’s difficult to believe that Frimpong would countenance joining the north Londoners unless he was going to be their first-choice in the position.
Were that the case, then what happens to both Timber and Tomiyasu? Competition for places is all well and good, but as Arteta has seen with the Aaron Ramsdale/David Raya issue, if players are not playing, then there’s a strong likelihood they will want to move on.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Unless the manager isn’t convinced by Tomiyasu and doesn’t want to wait to see how Timber recovers from his injury, then a move for Frimpong makes little sense.