Erik ten Hag keen to sign ‘special player’ for Manchester United

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is thought to be extremely keen on signing Bayer Leverkusen right-back Jeremie Frimpong this summer.

The Lowdown: Frimpong rumours

Frimpong has seemingly been on the Old Trafford radar for a number of months now, with Sky Sports reporter Florian Plettenberg sharing United’s interest back in 2022.

Reports since then have suggested that United scouts are excited about the right-back and that there is a belief a deal can be done this year at £30-35million.

The 22-year-old, valued at a career-high €25m (£22.1m) by Transfermarkt, has enjoyed a successful campaign so far, contributing to a career-best 12 league goals and 16 in all competitions.

The Latest: Transfer update

Sports Witness relayed an update from SportBild regarding Frimpong and United in the last 48 hours.

They claimed that Ten Hag is personally ‘determined’ to get the fullback to Old Trafford after the season comes to an end, with the Red Devils needing to pay €60m (£52m).

The Verdict: Exciting

Frimpong appears to be going from strength to strength in Germany, with the former Manchester City youngster being hailed by his manager Xabi Alonso. When called up to the Netherlands squad for last year’s World Cup, Alonso said:

“He deserves this chance to participate in the World Cup.

“He has a very big impact on our game. He is a very good player, but for me is even a special player. It is logical that Louis Van Gaal gives him the chance because he is a difference player.”

Former Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou also praised the right-back after the player left for Germany, saying:

“He has done really well.

“He did well here in the couple of years and I think he would be the first to say his time with Celtic helped him in his career. We gave him that platform on which to perform. He did so and he got a great move after it.”

Frimpong appears to be getting better and better, so a move to Old Trafford could be a wise one by Ten Hag and United officials, where Frimpong could look to take over from Diogo Dalot and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

He has shown this season that he has real quality going forward and has averaged a WhoScored match rating of 7.14/10, better than both Dalot (7.05/10) and Wan-Bissaka (6.85/10).

In fact, Frimpong would actually be United’s second-best performing player behind Bruno Fernandes with that rating, which just shows how a transfer could be an extremely shrewd move.