Despite a disappointing first season with Liverpool, Jeremie Frimpong had seemingly been expecting the call to join the Netherlands’ World Cup squad this summer.
“I went there the first time, so to go there again? It’s a kid’s dream, you know. It’s still a dream,” he told Sky Sports on Saturday, after confirming that Ronald Koeman had not yet been on the phone ahead of the squad announcement.
Ultimately the call from Koeman never came, meaning Frimpong has suffered the heartbreak of being omitted from the Oranje squad.
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Although his first year at Liverpool has not gone as planned, the expectation was still that Frimpong would join up with Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch and Cody Gakpo as part of Koeman’s group.
That he hasn’t comes as a surprise, but with a full pre-season now slated with the Reds, perhaps the disappointment can have a positive knock-on effect as Frimpong stakes his claim to be Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah replacement.
Frimpong has a chance to impress at right wing
It is no secret that Liverpool are trying to sign a new winger this summer, with the need to replace Salah a clear priority in the transfer market.
Frimpong has not really shown much to suggest that he could step up and do that throughout a turbulent first year at Anfield, and some supporters would scoff at the suggestion that he should be given bigger responsibilities.
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However, it is also clear that Liverpool may try to sign a new right-back in the coming months, which would free Frimpong up from playing further back.
This would make him a permanent member of Arne Slot’s attacking options, and with other players unavailable for the start of pre-season as they compete at the World Cup, Frimpong’s presence in training could give Slot something to think about.
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Given the problems Liverpool have had at right-back this season, there has not been too many opportunities for Frimpong to get any rhythm as a right winger.
Nevertheless, his best moments have all come while starting as a forward, and he certainly has the pace, tenacity and goal-scoring threat to play that position more regularly.
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Many fans have been bemused and confused by the club’s decision to sign Frimpong when he has always looked most at home as a right wing-back in a back five.
But if they do sign another right-sided defender this summer, then it will be clear that they saw him as an attacking player all along. Salah’s exit frees up the possibility that he can fill that spot, and though most supporters would like to see a new arrival, maybe this was always the long-term plan?
It is possible that Liverpool bring in a new right forward before the start of pre-season, which would make it more difficult for Frimpong to stake his claim during the summer friendlies.
However, as things stand, his lack of World Cup action means that he will be relatively unopposed as Liverpool’s right winger when the curtain comes up on pre-season. Had he travelled to the USA, Canada and Mexico, that would not have been the case. So, while it will sting to miss out on a tournament he had expected to light up, Frimpong can still turn this negative into a real positive for Liverpool.
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