ONE of the most exciting aspects of football as January approaches is the advent of the silly season. Fans, players, management – and anyone even remotely interested in the sport start to hear – and start – rumours about which players are making the move to a new team.
One of the biggest pre-transfer season departures is the highly publicised ‘sacking’ of Portuguese legend, Cristiano Ronaldo, who very much blotted his copybook with the team after a very controversial interview with his number one fan, Piers Morgan. After a stinging attack on the team and the manager, Erik Ten Hag had no choice but to send him packing.
However, now he’s on the lookout to build the squad up again – and online casinos and sportsbooks are certainly dishing out odds on which players could be joining the Red Devils for the start of 2023. One of those names that have been put in the hat is Jeremie Frimpong… and Celtic will be rubbing their hands in glee if this were to be the case.
Keen to Seal the Deal
According to rumours, Manchester United is very keen to bag Frimpong and put pen to paper – and he is equally as interested. If this does go through, then this could certainly be a cracker of a payout. Real Madrid, it has been reported, are also monitoring the Dutch youngster’s progress.
Celtic will certainly be keeping a close eye on how it plays out if United or Real or anyone else do manage to complete a deal for Bayer Leverkusen’s right-back. Already they have managed to enjoy a very decent profit on the 21-year-old player – but could be in for even more if the high-profile transfer is completed in January 2023 due to the sell-on clause put into place as part of the Leverkusen deal.
A Well Travelled Youngster
Originally, Frimpong was an academy player for Manchester City until he was signed by Celtic in 2019 for approximately £400k. However, less than two years later, they sold him over to the Bundesliga’s Bayer Leverkusen for a whopping £12 million, leaving them with a tidy £11.4 million profit.
Since 2021, when he joined the German giants, he has grown immensely and has earned a fantastic reputation. He is now considered to be one of the most promising and talented young full-backs in the world… and it comes as no surprise that this has piqued the interest of Ten Hag and his team.
Ready to Say Goodbye?
He may wish to head back over to the UK – and Man U may want him to join the team… but are Leverkusen ready to say goodbye? Well, according to a recent press briefing, Romano was believed to have said that he certainly is prepared to sell the youngster in January…but only for offers around the £25 million mark. He even confirmed that he was aware that the Netherlands player had expressed a keen interest to join the red Mancunians at the iconic Old Trafford stadium.
Indeed, he stated that because Bayer Leverkusen did intend to keep the player, this wasn’t an easy decision, but they have tagged with a value of £25 million if that is a price that a team is ready to pay for him.
They came to the decision based on the fact that Frimpong has expressed a willingness to leave – and is very excited about the prospect of playing for one of the Premier League’s most legendary teams. He is a huge fan of the EPL and this move could be the right one.
A Star in the Making
This is someone that emerged from an academy just three years ago and his star is most definitely in the ascension. From having a value of £400,000 just three years ago to being worth £25 million, the growth is astonishing.
Will he leave Germany to play for Erik Ten Hag’s team? Or will Real Madrid intervene? Are there others ready to pounce on the adventurous defender next month when the window opens?
Anything can happen. Remember, please, this is the silly season!
