One of Unai Emery’s biggest transfer priorities at Aston Villa in 2024 is to find a new right-back. The Spaniard only has one specialist option at his disposal right now, and he wants to strengthen in that department.
Ezri Konsa, a predominant centre-half, has lined up on the right of Emery’s back four 11 times already this season, which may suggest that he isn’t entirely satisfied with Matty Cash and would like an upgrade. One player who could provide that is Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong, who’s set to be available for £35m this summer under a release clause built into his contract with the Bundesliga club.
Jeremie Frimpong transfer update
According to Football Insider, Aston Villa have listed Frimpong as a potential target for the summer transfer window, and NSWE will launch an ambitious move to pay his release clause on one condition. Arsenal are also reported to be ready to bite the bullet, but Villa believe they can win the race for the summer if they secure Champions League football this season.
With more than half the Premier League season gone, Villa sit in second place, only three points off leaders Liverpool and three clear of Spurs in fifth. Frimpong is set to qualify for Europe’s premier club competition at Leverkusen, who are currently four points ahead of Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga with an unbeaten record after 16 games, and he’ll expect any suitors to be able to offer the same incentive.
Devastating Frimpong can launch new era
If Villa do finish in the top four, then it’s hard to think of a better signing to announce their arrival at the top table, especially if it means beating the Gunners to the deal.
Frimpong’s output this season has frankly been monstrous, with only one defender in Europe’s top five leagues – incidentally, his teammate on the opposite side in Alejandro Grimaldo – recording more direct goal contributions (12 vs 11).
That means that the Dutchman is comfortably beating the likes of PSG’s Achraf Hakimi, Newcastle’s Kieran Trippier (both seven) and Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold (five). No wonder Eurosport Germany’s Dennis Melzer says he’s “enormously dangerous in front of goal for a nominally defensive player”.
Another aspect of Frimpong’s threat is his ability to run with the ball. He leads the Bundesliga for both progressive carries (89) and carries into the penalty area (38), a reflection of both his technical and athletic prowess. At 35.96 km/h (22.3mph), he’s recorded the fifth-highest top speed in the division in 2023/24, and Neil Lennon, his former manager at Celtic, said on the Bundesliga Highlights Show that he possesses a “deceptive” amount of power for a player who’s only around 5 foot 9.
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The 23-year-old would be a big coup for Villa when you consider that Arsenal, another side vying for a top-four spot, and 20-time champions Manchester United, are also said to be in the race for his signature. It’s worth noting that he’s delivering his current numbers in a 3-4-3 system where he operates as a wing back, while Emery has preferred to operate with a four.
So, there might be some drop-off in his output in a different system, but you’d think that the manager would find a way to give him as much freedom as he possibly could after seeing what he’s capable of this year.
