Liverpool could sign dream Trent replacement for £34m

Liverpool are roughly a month away from kicking off their Premier League campaign for the 2024/25 season with a clash with Ipswich Town away at Portman Road.

The club opted to bring in Dutch head coach Arne Slot from Feyenoord this summer to replace Jurgen Klopp, who spent almost nine years on Merseyside, in the dugout at Anfield.

He is now tasked with getting his team ready to compete at the top end of the Premier League next season whilst also competing for trophies domestically and in Europe.

The summer transfer window officially opened for business last month but Liverpool are yet to dip into the market to bolster the manager’s options across the pitch.

Meanwhile, Slot may be in danger of losing one of his key players ahead of the 2024/25 campaign as Trent Alexander-Arnold has been linked with an exit from Anfield.

Sport BILD journalist Christian Falk recently claimed that Real Madrid are interested in a swoop to sign the England international and that the defender is open to a move, as his contract is due to expire next summer.

Losing the 25-year-old ace would be a big blow for the new Liverpool manager due to the right-back’s terrific performances in the Premier League.

Why losing Trent Alexander-Arnold would be a big blow

Back in February, Alexander-Arnold broke the Premier League record for assists from a defender with his 58th assist in the division, overtaking teammate Andy Robertson.

The English sensation has produced 15 goals and 58 assists in 226 appearances in the top-flight in his career to date and could run out well ahead of the competition in that particular record if he remains at Liverpool for many more years to come.

He has registered double figures for assists in three separate Premier League seasons to date, which speaks to how consistently brilliant the full-back has been at creating chances for his teammates.

Alexander-Arnold, who was a finalist with England at the 2024 European Championship in Germany, was let down by his teammates in the final third during the 2023/24 campaign, as they did not make the most of the high-quality opportunities that were created for them.

As you can see in the table above, the English whiz has also been rewarded with 13 assists from a staggering 42 ‘big chances’ created in the last two Premier League seasons.

What these statistics also show is that Alexander-Arnold is absolutely pivotal to Liverpool’s team because he is a huge source of creativity from a right-back position, with his outstanding passing and crossing to split open opposition defences on a regular basis.

This means that Slot would need to bring in a full-back with exceptional attacking talent in order to brilliantly replace the Reds academy graduate, should he end up departing for Real Madrid this summer, or next year.

Liverpool’s interest in attacking full-back

German paper Sport BILD, as relayed by PaisleyGates, recently reported that Liverpool are interested in a swoop to sign Bayer Leverkusen wing-back Jeremie Frimpong.

The outlet claimed that the Premier League giants are in talks with the Bundesliga club in an attempt to secure a deal to snap up the former Manchester City prospect.

It stated that the Netherlands international, who was behind Denzel Dumfries in the pecking order at the Euros, has a release clause worth £34m in his current contract with Leverkusen.

However, Liverpool may be in talks with them in order to negotiate the payment structure of that release clause, rather than paying all £35m up front.

The report also revealed that the ex-Celtic star would be interested in a move to Anfield to compete in the Premier League under his fellow countryman Slot, whilst it added that he would only consider moves to top clubs in Europe if he were to move on from Leverkusen.

Liverpool must ensure that they can get a deal over the line to sign the right wing-back before the end of the summer transfer window as he would come in as a brilliant replacement for Alexander-Arnold, should the English star move on from Anfield.

Why Jeremie Frimpong could brilliantly replace Trent Alexander-Arnold

As aforementioned, any player coming in to replace the current Reds star would need to provide outstanding quality at the top end of the pitch.

Frimpong’s performances for Leverkusen last season suggest that he has the ability to do exactly that with his contributions as both a scorer and a creator of goals for the German side.

Over the last 365 days, he ranks within the top 6% of full-backs in the Men’s Big 5 Leagues and European competitions for Expected Assisted Goals per 90 (0.24) and the top 1% for non-penalty goals per 90 (0.37).

This shows that the Dutch star, who also ranks within the top 7% for shot-creating actions per 90 (3.39), has the quality on the ball to make things happen at the top end of the pitch at an exceptional rate in comparison to other full-backs in Europe.

Frimpong’s underlying data is sublime and his statistics in the Bundesliga and the Europa League last term further illustrate his attacking quality.

As you can see in the table above, the 23-year-old whiz, who was described as a “cheat code” by U23 scout Antonio Mango, hit double figures for goals scored and ‘big chances’ created across those two competitions.

This shows that the young wing-back has the ability to consistently make an impact in the final third from an advanced position down the right flank, which is what Alexander-Arnold has been doing for many years.

Frimpong has not played as an orthodox right-back for Leverkusen but Slot could look to adapt his system to accommodate him or coach the Dutchman to play in a slightly more reserved role whilst retaining the bulk of his attacking quality, making him a brilliant Alexander-Arnold replacement.