Frimpong surprised at Leverkusen move from ‘no man’s land’ of Celtic

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 3 min read

Jeremie Frimpong has confessed his surprise at securing a move to Leverkusen as he didn’t believe he’d be picked up from the “no man’s land” of Celtic.

In the January transfer window, the former Manchester City full-back secured a move to the Bundesliga, with Leverkusen paying Celtic a fee that could rise to £11.5 million for his services.

The move came in the middle of a desperate season for the Glasgow giants, who have surrendered their pursuit of a historic 10th title in a row by falling well off the pace of champions elect, Rangers.

With Celtic performing so poorly domestically, failing to qualify for the Champions League, and also being dismal in the Europa League, Frimpong says he was surprised when Leverkusen came calling.

“I was shocked by the interest from Bayer as I was coming from no man’s land,” he told Bild.

“But of course I was very pleased about it. The Bundesliga is a big challenge & therefore I went for it for my development.”

Should add I don’t think Jeremie is being disrespectful to Scotland or Celtic here. It’s simply that he probably thought Scotland was off the radar for Bundesliga clubs (from their point of view) which to be fair it generally is.

— Derek Rae (@RaeComm) March 1, 2021

Frimpong doesn’t elaborate what he means by “no man’s land” but it is possible he is either referring to Celtic’s recent struggles, or simply the fact that Scottish football is not high on the priority list for scouts.

The young Dutchman had developed into one of the most exciting right-backs in Britain this season, with an enviable burst of pace that enabled him to shoot up and down the right wing.

With Celtic doing themselves out of a cash injection by failing to qualify for the Champions League group stage, and with the coronavirus pandemic hitting every club in the world financially, Frimpong may be the first of a few star players to leave the Hoops over the next six months.

Star striker Odsonne Edouard has been linked with Arsenal and Aston Villa, while Kristoffer Ajer is the object of some transfer speculation surrounding Milan, Leicester, Dortmund, and Atletico Madrid.