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Jeremie Frimpong

Discussion in 'Ex Players' started by MickeyyMack, Sep 2, 2019.

Discuss Jeremie Frimpong in the Ex Players area at TalkCeltic.net.

  1. FrankMcCallum Gold Member Gold Member

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    So what you’re saying is that there are clubs out there that focus on improving their players weaknesses?

    Madness, it’ll never catch on.
     
    MacEwan likes this.
  2. Luis1967 Gold Member Gold Member

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    Will he be on the bench tonight? See they are playing RBL on BT later, should be decent.
     
  3. Ziggy

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    Hes having to quarantine I think
     
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  4. McChiellini..

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    I think so as well..

    It's quite an open league for the most part so he won't be doubled up on with 10 men behind the ball most every other week..

    Leverkusen are an attacking side with pace elsewhere so he won't be the main one earmarked to single out. He could be playing on the same wing as Leon Bailey....ooft..

    Some change from having a whole right side to do his self up against a low block..

    We don't have a lot of runners breaking beyond or great movement, certainly this season....so he'll have plenty to pick out over there..

    It's a great move for him..
     
    MacEwan likes this.
  5. MacEwan Himmy Butler Gold Member

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    Plus they’ve probably already identified his final ball is his main weakness and he’s most likely already started working on it, because that’s what well coached, professional teams do :giggle1:
     
    King of Kings and McChiellini.. like this.
  6. Lupis Gold Member Gold Member

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    Had he stayed Lenny's pie and chips diet would have soon bulked him up!

    On a more serious note, I think Germany is a good move for him, but Spain would have been a better fit as it's less physical then the German league. Hard to get a move to Spain from Scotland though.
     
  7. Buster

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    Good luck to him, he’s away to a bigger league and we got a few bucks for him........at least he never chased the money in a relegation battle in the pub league
     
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  8. gandolf

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    I see his debut ended in an embarrassing loss to a fourth division team, shame.
     
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  9. MacEwan Himmy Butler Gold Member

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    Bitter? Cringe.

    He played 6 minutes.
     
    elbhoydo and Rydo1888* like this.
  10. Luis1967 Gold Member Gold Member

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    Done well in the build up to this goal.

     
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  11. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

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    https://theathletic.co.uk/2371274/2...e-worlds-top-leagues-i-wanted-this-challenge/



    The day before Jeremie Frimpong was announced as a Bayer Leverkusen player, Celtic manager Neil Lennon was asked in a press conference why the 20-year-old was leaving. He described Frimpong as “not unhappy” at Celtic, just “ambitious”. Many people interpreted the comment in myriad ways, poring over it for implication and allusion, and while those aren’t necessarily absent from Lennon’s description, it’s clear from speaking to Frimpong this week that he inarguably has both those characteristics.

    He is ambitious but strikingly focused and humble at the same time. He’s also incorrigibly happy, and insistent that he was so at Celtic. The enthusiasm that won the hearts of the Celtic support after he broke into the first team in the autumn of 2019, captured by his gleeful Oh my days!” catchphrase, is entirely earnest. Though he’s endured adversity during his early life and career, this is a young man who radiates optimism.

    Yet his ties with Celtic ended abruptly last month, just 16 months after he started his first Celtic (and senior) game. Fans were upset by what they felt was a premature farewell, and that while there’s a huge rebuilding job on the horizon after this season, they were hopeful Frimpong might be one of the constants during the team’s transition. Why leave Celtic now?

    “It was the right time to leave Celtic because it was about a big club like Leverkusen coming, rather than about Celtic,” Frimpong tells The Athletic. “And obviously the Bundesliga was really attractive. So when they came, I was like, ‘I could play in the Bundesliga!’, and that was it really.

    “I was watching Bundesliga anyway, and Bayer Leverkusen were playing a lot. For me, I’ve always wanted to play in the top leagues, and I consider the Bundesliga to be top three in the world. I wanted to take this challenge to see if I can handle it.”

    Throughout his still-blooming career, Frimpong has had an instinct for when he’s wanted to take the next step. It’s clear in his assertiveness that these were decisions he made himself, and decisions he is determined to vindicate. It’s what prompted him to leave Manchester City’s academy when he did, and it’s what prompted him to leave Celtic after 18 months. It wouldn’t be surprising if it’s that gut instinct that guides him during his entire playing career.

    “When I made my mind up about leaving City I was clear about it, I was ready,” Frimpong says. “The last under-23s season I had with City, I knew I was ready to take the next step. So I told my family first that I wanted senior football, and then I told my agent. And they were like, ‘OK, go and prove yourself’. So they helped teams to come watch me, and I had to prove myself. That’s what I’ve got to go and do now.




    For me, I play to win trophies, as I’ve said. I want to play for winning teams, and I want to win a lot more. I’m 20, I’ve got a lot of years to play and prove myself. I’ve still got a lot of work to do.”







    The weeks leading up to Frimpong’s departure were ignominious for Celtic. Their winter training camp trip to Dubai at the beginning of January, though legal and approved by the Scottish government, was heavily criticised for being seen as tone-deaf while the rest of the UK were enduring reimposed heavy restrictions as COVID-19 cases and deaths continued to rise. Players and coaching staff were subsequently photographed close to each other in public bars and by swimming pools, breaking both local guidelines and those enforced by the Scottish government’s resumption of elite sport in travelling abroad.

    That one of their players, Christopher Jullien, tested positive for COVID-19 upon returning to the UK aggravated the criticism, especially as 12 other first-team players alongside Jullien had to self-isolate. Celtic drew both games against Hibernian and Livingston while these players were self-isolating, though Frimpong was one player who didn’t have to isolate and played both games.

    Though the club released a video of CEO Peter Lawwell apologising for the outcome of the trip, the following week Lennon gave an extraordinary press conference in which he called out the media and the Scottish government, and insisted that the club had done nothing wrong.

    For weeks, Celtic’s Dubai trip was mainstream UK news. How aware was Frimpong of all this controversy while in Dubai? “The training camp was really good, intense,” Frimpong says. “The sun was really nice, hotel food was so nice as well. But I was just focused on training.”

    What about the fallout afterwards, when the team returned to Scotland?

    “For me and the Celtic guys it was a good training camp, we worked hard, and I was just focused on the football. Obviously, when we came back there were a lot of things said, and I realise why people were upset, but you just have to focus on you. Everyone was like me, everyone was focused on the team. I was the youngest there, and everyone was more experienced than me, so they were all like that.”

    When Celtic left for Dubai, they had just lost 1-0 to Rangers, extending their deficit behind their rivals to 19 points, though with three games in hand. Since Dubai, they’ve only won three games in seven, with their title-race ambitions virtually non-existent. Asked why Celtic have been so poor this season, Frimpong insists “the fans were a big part. No fans, everything is quiet. It was different and weird. I would say that’s the biggest thing. That’s no excuse for what’s happened though”.

    Speaking of Lennon, Frimpong is concise on their relationship. “Neil Lennon — sorry, the gaffer! — was the first manager to give me my start, so I’ll always respect him for that.”

    Though his Celtic career might have petered out, that doesn’t mean it’s void of happy memories and Frimpong has no regrets about moving to Glasgow. On multiple occasions, he expresses his gratitude towards Lennon and Celtic for putting their faith in him and giving him his start in professional football.

    He was also grateful to his team-mates for helping him develop his game and settle in Scotland. “I think I was close to everyone,” he says. “First day I clicked with everyone straight away. The captain Scott Brown gave me a lot of information, taught me about the game, the club. Callum McGregor was good as well, so was Boli Bolingoli. Jonny Hayes as well. They taught me how I should use my ability, and adapting to the country.”

    Frimpong has especially fond memories of the 2019 League Cup win. He was sent off, in the second half but remembers it as his first-ever professional trophy, that first manifestation of winning that he’s so devoted to. The Athletic remembers waiting for post-match interviews at Hampden after full-time and hearing Frimpong yelling, “Oh my days!” repeatedly for, without exaggerating, two or three minutes in the team dressing room. “It was my first ever professional cup,” Frimpong grins down the camera, “I loved it. That was the best.”




    In terms of his ability, Frimpong felt that his “dribbling skills developed a lot” while in Scotland. “When I was at Celtic I was playing regularly, so had the opportunities to work on my dribbling. Obviously, I still have a lot to improve. I still need to work on my final ball, my end product. I’ll keep working on that.”

    Frimpong then elaborates on what the average training session looked like for him at Celtic: “Most of the time, I’m in attacking positions, so most work in training I do is on what to do in those positions. That or cutting in and shooting on my left, I’m working on that as well.

    “You also need to learn to use both of your feet. You can’t always use your strongest, so I need to develop that more, to improve every part of my game.”


    Frimpong has been asked to play right wing and right-back this season but insists he doesn’t mind having been moved around. “I do the same thing anyway, it doesn’t really matter to me,” he says. “I don’t mind right wing. For me, it’s always good to be able to play different positions, so I don’t care where I end up.”

    As to concerns of him being too lightweight to be a defender, he’s working on his core strength but has no intention of bulking up anytime soon. “I do core, I don’t really do weights. I don’t want to get big or anything like that, so I don’t lose my speed, just a stronger core so people don’t push me off the ball that easily.”

    Frimpong is opening a new chapter in Germany. By his own admission, Frimpong has a lot to work on in his game, but Leverkusen were excited as much by his potential as by his current ability. “I guess I had a good season when I was at Celtic and they really liked me,” he explains. “They liked what I could do.”

    Leverkusen presented to Frimpong a career map for the next three or four years, where he could develop in a team looking to re-establish themselves as Champions League regulars. The plan was based around him improving as player, while contributing to Leverkusen’s success in the league, and hopefully, winning some cup competitions.

    His impact in the league has been immediate. On his Bundesliga debut yesterday he came off the bench and played a key role in Demarai Gray’s goal that made it 5-2 against Stuttgart and lifted Leverkusen to fourth place in the table. Picking up possession near the halfway line from a goal kick, he twisted inside and then drove at the Stuttgart defence before moving the ball on to a team-mate. The ball then fell to Gray, who curled a shot into the far corner.











    Before joining Frimpong also held conversations with the manager Peter Bosz, who discussed with him his own pedigree for developing youth at both Leverkusen and former club Ajax. Frimpong was told about how young prodigies like Kai Havertz (now of Chelsea) and fellow right-back Dani Carvajal (of Real Madrid) were given platforms to shine at Leverkusen.

    Frimpong, based at the team hotel for now while club staff help him try to find a house, has enjoyed his brief interactions with his new coaches and team-mates so far. “I’m enjoying it a lot. Obviously, I went in and met up with the new team-mates, new coaches. They’ve all given me a warm welcome, and I’m really happy to be with them.

    “I spoke to Leverkusen players, asking them what the league is like, what the fans are like. How is life in Germany, because I’ve never lived outside the UK. They were good because they told me to just go do what I do and enjoy it. I’ve got to get trust from everyone first, the manager and players, so I need to impress everyone first so they trust me. When they trust me, I can then go out and play freely.

    “My first training session was light because we had a game the day after, so it was a small session, nice and sharp. But yeah, I enjoyed it, when I first got here I had to quarantine for five days, so I was just in bed doing nothing.”

    So, how did he spend those five days quarantining? Indulging one of his favourite pastimes. “I was watching anime,” Frimpong says. “Do know what anime is?” We confirm that we’re familiar with the Japanese animations.

    “I was watching Naruto, Attack on Titan. Ever since I was young, I’ve been really into anime. The first anime I watched was Dragon Ball Z. After I watched that, I had to watch all the different animes. Even now, every time I watch Dragon Ball Z, I’m like, ‘Phew, that was something’… it’s too good.

    “My team-mates think it’s childish or whatever but they don’t understand. I think anime is good for motivation because the characters always set a goal. They want to be something. There’s always a struggle at the start, and eventually, they get there, and I find that really inspiring.”

    We ask what goal Frimpong has set for himself. “To win as many trophies as I can,” he explains. “I play to win trophies. I like winning. I’ve won three already, and that’s a good start, but I have to keep going.”

    What about the struggle that anime characters have at the start of their journey?

    “It was hard at the start, and it wasn’t easy for me or my family,” he says. He was born in Amsterdam as the fifth child of eventually seven, in a cramped three-bedroom flat. They moved to the UK when he was six, after his mum and dad had split up. They got a council house in Clayton, a suburb of east Manchester. Frimpong’s mum worked two jobs to help feed her family, and to pay for Frimpong’s football subs, first for Clayton and eventually Manchester City.

    “I’m just really grateful for where I am,” Frimpong continues. “Because at the start I never thought I would be here, so I’m only grateful. I’m only starting as well, I have to think that I haven’t done anything yet. There’s a lot more to do.”

    As you can probably infer, Frimpong is very family-oriented. Before the pandemic, his mum and big brother visited him in Glasgow every few weeks. Their importance to his career progression, and formation as a warm person, is obviously incalculable.

    “I love the people around me,” he says matter-of-factly. “My family, especially my big brother, and also my agent. Those two have been a big part of my life, and my career. My mum doesn’t really know about football, it’s my big brother and agent that really know.”

    Well, then, two big moves already and he’s just turned 20. Though his mum has ingrained in him the need for humility and civility, there’s always the threat for young footballers to get caught up in such whirlwind success (and pay rises) at such a young age. Extravagant frivolities hold no appeal to Frimpong however.

    “I can only speak for me,” he speaks assertively. “When I was at the (Man City) academy, I’ve always loved the game and wanted to be the best footballer, for me, for my own reasons. Getting money’s never changed me. Obviously, it can help your family, but it has never changed my view of football. I don’t play it for the lifestyle, I play it cause I like it.

    “And I’m only getting started, there’s a long way to go.”
     
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  12. King of Kings

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    Really likeable bloke.

    Cool that he’s into anime as well. Makes a change from the usual footballer hobbies of golf and FIFA.
     
  13. Doogs. Lustig your the one, you still turn me on.

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    Good wee character, wasn’t his biggest fan as a player just yet, but his potentials undoubted.
     
  14. Raoul Duke

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    Shame we didn't have a competent manager to help him fulfil his potential.
     
  15. Liam Scales Gold Member Gold Member

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    That’s quite harsh, he signed him, told him what he needs to do to get into the first team and then trusted him in that role. He left us a better player than he signed and he got a decent money move to one of the best leagues in the world.

    He will 100% improve there but Celtic, and Lennon, done a lot for his career.

    He was always going to be a player that didn’t stay here for long. And Man City knew that as well, which is why they structured the deal like they did.
     
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  16. RogicHasMagicToes

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    Started for Leverkusen tonight in a 4-3 defeat to Young Boys, got an assist
     
  17. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

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  18. stew37

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    Best cross I've ever seen him hit.:56:
     
  19. Seán Mac D Gold Member Gold Member

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    Was thinking the same. Where was that delivery on January 2nd?
     
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  20. stew37

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    Literally canny even remember seeing him whip a cross in like that!

    His end product is what was badly missing, maybe they're coaching him in that area. Not sure if we could have tried that.