Manchester United and Liverpool go head-to-head for Jeremie Frimpong | OneFootball

Manchester United are set to go head-to-head with their bitterest rivals for Jeremie Frimpong, according to reports.

As per CaughtOffside, the Bayer Leverkusen wing-back is a target for Liverpool as a replacement for Trent Alexander-Arnold, while United retain an interest in the Dutch defender and could look to make a move themselves.

Frimpong was a crucial part of Leverkusen’s remarkable Bundesliga win last season, chipping in with 9 goals and 9 assists to help Xabi Alonso’s side romp home to the title.

And with eye-catching performances across the Europa League and DFB-Pokal too, the right-sided defender ended the campaign with an incredible 14 goals and 12 assists.

The Bundesliga champions did well to keep hold of the player, whose £34m release clause felt like an open invitation to clubs looking to fortify their defence.

But it appears that European giants are circling the 23-year-old once again, with Liverpool boss Arne Slot and United manager Erik ten Hag both keen on bringing their compatriot to the Premier League.

Caughtoffside reports that “Frimpong is … admired at Anfield [and] he has plenty of clubs looking at him, with Manchester United also expected to be in the race for his signature.”

Should Frimpong make the switch to Old Trafford he would be the second right-back to arrive in the space of a year after the addition of Noussair Mazraoui this summer.

Mazraoui came in from Bayern Munich to replace the departing Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who joined West Ham United for £15m after five seasons at United.

Diogo Dalot is Ten Hag’s other first-team option at right-back, but the Portuguese has spent much of his recent gametime at left-back, where injuries to Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia have left a gaping hole. The report states that there are “some question marks remaining over Diogo Dalot, though [and] with Erik ten Hag’s side still in something of a transitional period, Liverpool might be the more tempting option for Frimpong if he really wants to further his career.”

This is something of a curious statement, given that Dalot was outstanding in 2023/24 and was even awarded the first team’s Players’ Player of the Year award. It also seems a little premature to assume that United will still be in transition and that Liverpool will have been successful by the time Frimpong is ready to move.

Meanwhile, the 23 year old has picked up where left off last season, with a goal and two assists from four league matches.

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