What Should we Expect from Jeremie Frimpong this Season?
Is there a world where a 19-year-old right-back possessed great all-round skills, and only cost 3 million euros? (Please don’t mention about THAT Liverpool player, i’m trying so hard to create a narrative here)
Meet Jeremie Frimpong, Celtic’s right back. Since he arrived last season, he former Manchester City youth player has risen up the ranks and landed in the regular starting 11 spot of Neil Lennon’s Celtic.
Celtic’s main aim in possession, on flanks, is to create triangular rotations between the CM, wings, and the full-backs. If the ball is distributed from the middle of the pitch, Edouard will pull back, allowing the midfield runner to capitalize the created space. He also occasionally helps the triangles, while the player near him fills the vacated space. The constant rotations that happened in the dynamics requires the players to read cues, interpret space well, and improvise when there are opportunities.
When Celtic retains the ball with the opponent still being disorganized, they opt to move the ball as fast as possible to the penalty area. These are where Frimpong’s attacking capability is shown.
Great space interpretation
Knowing where are the gaps and how to exploit it is a part of Frimpong’s ability. He’s decent in interpreting space, using footwork to manipulate opponents, and sprinting through that gaps, as shown in this clip below:
Astute ball control + speed
Frimpong’s ball control and speed is probably his biggest weapon. Alongside that, there are no reason for a defender to sag off from him. He will sprint away when marker when the opportunity arrives. On 1v1s, astute ball control and footwork allows him to skid pass his markers. There are still amount of carrying too much, however, where youth blood sometimes made him being a bit idealistic, but in overall, he’s an excellent dribbler.
Frimpong also have an array of body feints, which comes off handy on wrong-footing his opponent. A two-feet staggering is his favorite move.
This ability makes him the first choice on switches; Celtic overloads the left side more often than the right side, as shown in the graph below (against Hamilton). This allows better field of vision and space for Frimpong to drive/continue circulations.
Decent, yet inconsistent pass picker?
The thing is, Frimpong is decent at noticing runs and cues. However, his pass placement and power, occasionally, are still a hit or miss. He still overhit or misplace passes like these…..
but also had a fair share of passes that “click”:
Defensive potential and limitations
Frimpong is decent at handling 1v1s, at least from the few footage i watched. He covers the spaces well, as well as keeping his feet balanced. His speed also serves him well to do recovery runs.
His small and lean stature (1.75m and 62 kg) is one of his weaknesses. When Celtic stayed compact to handle crosses, strikers will hunt his side. But, he could maintain his balance really well in ground duels, as shown in this clip when he sealed his back from a stronger player.
A series of ball-watching moments also made him inconsistent at checking his shoulders, sometimes letting players lurk in behind. However, it’s more to a pitch maturity problem and he’ll gradually improve from time to time.
Confidence on attack+defence
Analyzing mentality in football is pretty hard since psychology’s variables are more vague than the ones like physical and statistical data. However, to allow their full capability to flourish, youth players need to have confidence on their own abilities. Frimpong seems to have this mentality. In his first Old Firm derby, fresh from Man City’s youth system, he showcased a brave performance, taking Rangers’ players head on and chasing down Morelos at the end of the game. This part should be treated as more opinionated, however.
Conclusion
Frimpong is a well-rounded player, although there are still rough sides, in attacking possession and transition. His recovery runs is his biggest asset on defending. However, he needs to be consistent on marking/scanning the opponents around him. He’s a player with big potential in a relatively low value (€3M, €250K wages/year,) but his value will most likely increasing by time. I believe his ceiling is a starting (but not always) right back for a Top 6 club bar Liverpool/City.
