Jeremie Frimpong can fly! Liverpool need full-back to stay fit and provide an X-factor to ensure top-five finish

Losing Trent Alexander-Arnold to Real Madrid was a hammer blow for Liverpool - and not just from an emotional and financial perspective. It was also a major setback on a sporting level. 

Alexander-Arnold has never been the greatest defender in the world, but his versatility and passing range made him utterly integral to Liverpool's success under Jurgen Klopp - and last season's title triumph on Arne Slot's watch. It's certainly no coincidence that the Reds - and Salah in particular - have scored far fewer goals this term having been shorn of Alexander-Arnold's ability to dissect defences from deep, and cause all sorts of chaos in the opposition box with his deadly deliveries from out wide.

However, Liverpool felt that Frimpong would help fill the void left by Alexander-Arnold - and it was easy to understand why.

Frimpong was by no means a like-for-like replacement, given there quite simply isn't another right-back like Alexander-Arnold in the game today. However, at Bayer Leverkusen, the 25-year-old had proven himself an absolute nightmare for opponents in other ways that former coach Xabi Alonso said made him almost unique too.

"You don't find many Jeremie Frimpongs in this world," the double-winning coach told Kolner Stadt-Anzeiger in May 2024. "He's such an important player for our system which is tailor-made for him."

Frimpong certainly flourished as a wing-back in Alonso's 3-4-2-1 formation. During his final two seasons at the Bay Arena, Frimpong scored more goals (19) in all competitions than any other defender across Europe's 'Big Five' leagues - while only Jonathan Clauss (21) and Alejandro Grimaldo (29) bettered his haul of 19 assists.

Frimpong's terrifying turn of pace was what made him such a menace, the kind of pace that Slot felt Liverpool lacked at full-back after facing Paris Saint-Germain's dynamic duo Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes in last season's Champions League.

Slot also revealed not long after Frimpong formally completed his move to Merseyside on June 1 that he and the rest of the Reds' recruitment team were of the opinion that the Netherlands international was so good going forward that he was viable option to fill in for Salah on the right wing during Egypt's Africa Cup of Nations campaign. The idea was, though, that the pair would perfectly complement one another, given Salah's preference for cutting inside and Frimpong's fondness for beating his man on the outside.

However, going into Tuesday's meeting with Wolves, the pair have only started alongside one another twice in the Premier League. AFCON has obviously played a part in that unfortunate statistic, but Frimpong's injury issues have been the main culprit - and a surprising one at that. 

Frimpong hadn't missed a Leverkusen match through injury for more than three years when he joined Liverpool - but he's sat out 19 since arriving at Anfield because of three separate hamstring problems.

The first occurred in his very first Premier League appearance, against Bournemouth; the second, after only 19 minutes of the Champions League win at Eintracht Frankfurt towards the end of October. As a result, a player who scored (albeit fortuitously) in his first official appearance for Liverpool, in the Community Shield clash with Crystal Palace, failed to build up any sort of momentum during his first four months at the club.

"It was really tough," Frimpong admitted in December. "I'm not really the kind of guy that gets injured. So, it's really difficult for me to deal with, but I had people, my people, around me... I just think it's part of the game. Injuries happen to people and I guess it was just my turn. I could say it's been an unlucky start for me, but like now I'm healthier. I feel good."

Just over a month later, though, he was gone again, after being forced off just three minutes into the 6-0 rout of Qarabag. The timing was particularly cruel as Frimpong had belatedly begun to show why Liverpool signed him.

There was the key cameo in a crucial win at Spurs, in which Frimpong teed up Hugo Ekitike for what proved the winner, and an assist for Ryan Gravenberch in the 2-1 victory over Wolves that had Slot singing his compatriot's praises.

"Pace, that's what Jeremie has, and that's so important and crucial in modern-day football," the manager told reporters. "Because to create something against a low-block, teams that defend with so many players, usually teams break this down with set-pieces. Now that's not our biggest strength and then to have him available with his pace, because the first goal we scored was pure individual ability – quick, bam, bam and a cut-back cross.

"OK, we were positioned in the right position, but that's the pace I always wanted to bring in in the summer, and that's what we did with Hugo (Ekitike), that's what we did with Jeremie and with Alex (Isak) as well. But, unfortunately, not all of the money we've spent we have been able to use and that has to do with the injuries of these players."

Still, while Isak remains sidelined with a broken leg, Ekitike is flourishing up front and Frimpong is finally available to start again after making such an encouraging comeback against West Ham at the weekend. Unsurprisingly, Slot is reluctant to take any risks with Frimpong, given Conor Bradley won't play again this season, while poor Gomez is made of glass.

"I don't think the only position we struggled was the right full-back position," the former Feyenoord coach said ahead of Tuesday's trip to Molineux. "I think it has been in more positions, but right full-back is probably the one that stands out most. So, having Jeremie back is really nice, but [managing his minutes] does go through your mind."

And particularly as Liverpool will this week return to playing every three-to-four days during a crucial run of fixtures before the international break that includes a Champions League last-16 showdown with Galatasaray and as well as matches against strugglers such as Wolves and Tottenham that simply have to be won to ensure a top-five finish in the Premier League.

"Those things you all have to take into account, especially with players who come back from injuries," Slot said. "But we also know the importance of every single game and I prefer to have this problem – to manage how many minutes I have to give him – than to see him with the medical staff doing his recovery."

Indeed, the importance of Frimpong's availability cannot really be overstated. He's been involved in five goals in his last six appearances in all competitions and, as former Red John Aldridge recently wrote in the Liverpool Echo, "Frimpong offers something different to our other players. He is just so fast, he's electric."

Indeed, the flying Dutchman is a veritable game-changer, and a potential season-saver Slot - so long as he manages to keep him fit...