Jamie O’Hara has given his verdict on Liverpool full-backs Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong after the departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold

10:15, 29 Jun 2025Updated 10:16, 29 Jun 2025

Wirtz and Frimpong (Photo by GSI/Icon Sport via Getty Images)

Former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O’Hara says that Jeremie Frimpong is a great signing for Liverpool. But thinks the void which Trent Alexander-Arnold left may still exist.

The 38-year-old told Grosvenor Sport that the Reds have done some brilliant business in signing Dutchman Frimpong, but still feels that Alexander-Arnold is the better of the two.

“Jeremine Frimpong is another really good signing for Liverpool,” he said. “If you’re comparing him to Trent Alexander-Arnold, Frimpong is more athletic and will be able to get up and down the line for the whole game. That wasn’t Trent’s strength – we’ve seen in the Club World Cup that he’s struggling to do that in a Real Madrid shirt.”

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Frimpong, who completed his move to Liverpool last month, has proven himself worthy of such a transfer. He was a key part in Bayer Leverkusen’s fairytale Bundesliga title win, along with being named in the Bundesliga Team of the Season for 2022-23 and 2023-2024.

Even though the 24-year-old has caught the attention of other Premier League teams with his move to the champions, O’Hara doesn’t think Frimpong will be able to match what Trent has done in red.

The Former Tottenham midfielder further said: “But I don’t think Frimpong will reach the same level as Trent did. He won’t be able to match Trent’s ability with the ball at his feet. Trent was compared to the likes of Kevin De Bruyne in terms of passing ability and creativity, which is a testament to how good he is. His contributions in the form of assists were unmatched for Liverpool, which is why Madrid have signed him.”

Alexander-Arnold was announced as a Real Madrid player on May 30, the same day that Liverpool announced his replacement, Frimpong.

Since Alexander-Arnold announced his intent to leave the Merseyside squad on May 5, Arne Slot opted to start Northern Irish international Conor Bradley in the right-back position.

Despite the 21-year-old’s positive influence since graduating from the Liverpool Academy in 2023, O’Hara believes that Bradley hasn’t got it to be a regular starter in the senior squad.

“I know that some fans have argued they’ve got Conor Bradley – who is a good player – but he’s not good enough to be a starting defender for Liverpool, let alone have the same effect as Trent.”

Along with this, O’Hara stated his surprise to see Liverpool’s backup goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher sign for Brentford, suggesting the Irishman has what it takes to start for some of Europe’s elite clubs.

He said: “Caoimhin Kelleher is a great signing for Brentford. He’s a really good player; he’s too good to be Liverpool’s backup. But, I will admit I was expecting Kelleher to sign for a top European club and be their starting goalkeeper.”

Kelleher joined the Liverpool Academy in 2015 from Irish club Ringmahon Rangers and worked his way up to make his senior debut for the Reds in 2019. The Irishman kept 24 clean sheets in 67 appearances in his time at LFC. He also has the record for the most penalty shootout saves (6) and penalty shootout wins (4) in Liverpool FC history.

O’Hara continued: “For Brentford to sign him on a permanent deal is a great piece of business, especially when they’re losing some of their best players and given the pressure they’ll be under next season with a new manager.”

Kelleher was sold to the Bees for an initial fee of £12.5 million, with potential add-ons which could increase the total to £18 million.