Last night I was fortunate to be in attendance at the Europa League Round of 16 clash between Ferencvaros and Bayer Leverkusen at the magnificent Puskas Arena.
The away side, coached by former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso, proved to be too good for the hosts, running out comfortable 2-0 winners on the night and 4-0 victors on aggregate.
One of the leading lights in Alonso’s team is former Celtic full back Jeremie Frimpong, however, speaking with some of the German journalists at the game, this may not be the case for much longer with a big-money summer transfer likely to happen.
The Dutchman signed for Celtic from Manchester City in 2019 for a fee of around £350,000 before going on to play a half century of games for the club in his 18 months in Glasgow. A transfer to Leverkusen followed in January 2021 for a reported €12 million.
Frimpong is held in high regards at Leverkusen and within German football circles in general. His high intensity performances and on-field relationship with Moussa Diaby have endeared him to the Bayer support, whilst also catching the eye of a number of potential suitors across Europe.
Linked with a move to Manchester United last summer that did not materialise, the view now from the group of journalists I spoke with last night is that a move will happen this summer and that Leverkusen are seeking in the region of €50-60 million for the former Celtic player.
If, as has previously been reported, Celtic has a sell-on clause of 10-15% of any future profits from Leverkusen moving Frimpong on, then the Hoops could be in line for a significant pay day during the summer.
Add to this to potential sell-on income should Kieran Tierney leave Arsenal this summer and Ange Postecoglou’s may be looking at a very healthy transfer budget as he looks to improve his squad for next season and another crack at the Champions League.
KEVIN MCCLUSKIE
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