Arne Slot could turn to new signing Jeremie Frimpong in a more advanced role when Liverpool lose Mohamed Salah to the Africa Cup of Nations
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – APRIL 27: (SUN OUT, SUN ON SUNDAY OUT) Arne Slot, Manger of Liverpool, embraces Mohamed Salah of Liverpool, as they celebrate the teams victory and confirmation of winning the Premier League title after the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC at Anfield on April 27, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)(Image: 2025 Liverpool FC)
Liverpool will have to make do without Mohamed Salah during the Premier League festive period this season, with the forward set to captain Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations. An ever-present in the English top-flight, his looming absence will hand Arne Slot a selection headache.
The 2025 edition of the continental competition has been pushed back from this summer due to the inaugural edition of FIFA’s controversial expanded Club World Cup taking place in the United States in June and July.
But with the World Cup also taking place next summer, the Africa Cup of Nations had to be pencilled in for December and January as opposed to its historical January and February mid-season slot.
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The latest edition of the tournament will get underway on December 21 and run until January 18, with Egypt’s group games taking place on December 22, Boxing Day and December 29.
Should the Pharaohs progress all the way to the final in Morocco, the 33-year-old could even end up missing nine matches in all competitions – including trips to Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal as well as the Reds’ penultimate Champions League league phase match.
Federico Chiesa and Harvey Elliott were the alternatives to Salah on the right-wing last season, but were both starved of opportunities as the Egyptian enjoyed arguably the best individual campaign of his career.
Starting only once and twice respectively in the Premier League – with such outings only coming after the title was won – both players are now being heavily linked with Anfield exits.
Such a dilemma is nothing new. Jurgen Klopp ultimately never found a perfect replacement for Salah, with it being somewhat merciful that the Egyptian was rarely absent.
Either he turned to players out of their preferred position or instead turned to an underused understudy. Neither scenario were ideal for players to make a sufficient impact in the absence of the club’s deadliest star.
In the past, Elliott, Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, Cody Gakpo, Takumi Minamino, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and even Kaide Gordon have all been turned to on the right-wing in the absence of Salah due to international duty with varying success.
Slot could again turn to Elliott if he stays put at Liverpool, while Diaz, Jota and Gakpo also remain options if required. But the Colombian and Portuguese have also been linked with exits this summer, and the Reds head coach would rather avoid putting square pegs in round holes.
After succeeding Klopp as manager, it became clear that Slot favoured having two quality players in every position – which led to the £10m signing of Chiesa from Juventus last August.
But as Salah enjoyed a remarkable campaign, returning 34 goals and 23 assists from 52 appearances in all competitions as he helped fire Liverpool to Premier League glory, the perils of being the Egyptian’s underused understudy became apparent once again – as has regularly been the case throughout his Anfield career.
The Reds have already looked to address this this summer though, by signing Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen.
After it became clear that Trent Alexander-Arnold would not be signing a new contract at Anfield, Liverpool moved for the Netherlands international as a replacement for their departing vice-captain as they activated his £29.5m release clause.
The 24-year-old was utilised predominantly as a right wing-back during his time at Leverkusen, but is capable of playing anywhere on the flank.
While Elliott and Chiesa were both coming in cold when turned to on the right last season, the hope will be that Frimpong features much more prominently next season. Vying with Conor Bradley to start at right-back, the presence of both full-backs will then leave the Reds better-placed on the occasions where the Dutchman is required to line up further forward.
In an exclusive interview with the ECHO, former Liverpool and Leverkusen striker Erik Meijer – who is now a respected Bundesliga pundit in Germany – insisted that Frimpong would have no issues adjusting his role at Anfield.
“No (it won’t be an issue for him), because Leverkusen also swapped the system,” he explained. “In some games they played with four at the back and he was the one on the right side. So for him it’s not a problem, he played both systems.”
And the one-time Netherlands international also pointed out how his compatriot is equally comfortable playing further forward.
“That’s a big bonus for Frimpong because he can play both positions,” Meijer said. “So more to the back or more offensively and that’s the same what (Xabi) Alonso did with him.
“Sometimes he played in the back four and sometimes he just played the offensive, more offensive role. That’s always nice for a coach, that you have somebody in that position who’s flexible.”
Frimpong has an admirable return in front of goal when utilised in a more traditional right-wing position/wide role in a front three with a defender behind.
A look at his career to date on Transfermarkt, and he is credited as having scored three times from six appearances as a right winger for Leverkusen. Including appearances for the Netherlands and his record stands at four goals and two assists from 15 outings.
But Frimpong’s experience at right wing is not from such a limited pool. While he has predominantly been utilised as a right wing-back, which is classed as ‘right midfield’ on Transfermarkt, not all of these outings actually came in such a role.
By cross-refencing against the formations used by Celtic and Leverkusen, a handful of these outings did come in a more advanced wide position.
Consequently, Frimpong has instead seemingly made 28 appearances further forward at club-level, returning six goals and four assists. 17 of those outings have come from the start, with the Dutchman featuring for 1,723 minutes in such a position and producing a goal contribution roughly every 172 minutes.
Meanwhile, Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman recently admitted he actually considered Frimpong as a winger. Speaking after starting the 24-year-old further forward against Finland, he said: “I think it’s the first time that Jeremie and Denzel played together. In my opinion, Jeremie is a right winger on the ball.
Frimpong has won 13 international caps to date, with 10 of them coming in a more advanced wide midfield role.
As a result, he has actually made 38 appearances for club and country in such a position, starting 22 times and returning seven goals and six assists.
Featuring for 2,215 minutes, his goal contribution rate improves slightly to roughly one every 170 minutes.
Frimpong will not be rivalling Salah’s own super-human hauls, but boasting a record better than one goal contribution for every two games (180 minutes) is perfectly respectable for a natural defender playing further forward.
All being well, Slot will not need to regularly turn to Frimpong in a more advanced role next season, with the Africa Cup of Nations proving to be Salah’s only prolonged absence.
But with such a position coming more naturally to the 24-year-old, Frimpong’s experience in the role to date at least demonstrates that he can cover sufficiently for Liverpool’s Egyptian King and solve a long-standing problem at Anfield in the process.