The £34m wing-back transfer that could help Liverpool move on from Alexander-Arnold

For now, life as a Liverpool fan probably feels pretty good. Arne Slot is off to a strong start and, a surprising 1-0 defeat at home to Nottingham Forest aside, performances have been pretty good. But there’s still one rather large dark cloud hanging over Anfield – the imminent expiration of several key players’ contracts. It’s an issue that will have to be resolved soon.

Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah are both entering the final years of their deals with the club and could be tempted away by offers from elsewhere, with other clubs allowed to open discussions over a potential move from January. Both are, however, getting older. Losing veteran campaigners is one thing, and the sun eventually sets on even the most illustrious Premier League career, but losing Trent Alexander-Arnold would be another.

The club vice-captain’s deal will expire in June, and there is already plenty of chatter concerning the possibility that Real Madrid will make a move. Losing Alexander-Arnold in his prime, for a free, when he is such an important part of the attacking set-up and such a huge contributor, would be unconscionable. But it could still happen – and that’s why Liverpool may be working on a back-up plan already.

Liverpool eye replacement right-back

According to a new report from Caught Offside, Liverpool have been extensively scouting Bayer Leverkusen, Xabi Alonso’s wildly impressive side who cantered to an unbeaten domestic double last season. Several players could well be of interest, with the article name-checking attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz and defensive midfielder Exequiel Palacios, but they also have one of very few players who can do the same sort of things that Alexander-Arnold does – Jérémie Frimpong.

The 23-year-old Dutch international is an attack-minded wing-back who was signed from Celtic in 2021 and quickly established himself as a crucial part of what became one of the best teams in Europe last season, and he has a lot of the fundamental attributes you need from someone signed to replace a player like Alexander-Arnold. He’s fast and always looking for space to exploit down the right flank and in the final third.

That doesn’t mean that he’s a carbon copy of the England international, however. Where Alexander-Arnold relies on his crossing and passing range to create chances, Frimpong has a less cultured right boot and looks to take defenders on with the ball at his feet instead. The result is a player whose output is enormous (16 goals and assists in league football compared to Alexander-Arnold’s seven last season) but who is often the player getting into the box to finish a move off rather than the playmaker.

Frimpong gets almost six times as many touches in the box per game as Alexander-Arnold does, beats defenders on the run nearly three times as often and generates far more positive yardage, and while it’s the Liverpool man who creates more shooting chances from open play (just over five per match on average compared to Frimpong’s 3.5 or so), as a strictly attacking weapon, Frimpong appears to be the better player.

Alexander-Arnold, however, is a much more accurate and intelligent passer, and it’s hard to imagine Frimpong being able to play as an auxiliary midfielder in the way that Alexander-Arnold can. Nor could he replicate the 25-year-old’s excellence from set pieces.

Frimpong is also such an attacking player that his defensive contribution is minimal, and while Alexander-Arnold’s critics have often cited their concerns over his weaknesses at the back, he’s at least as solid as his mooted replacement and certainly puts up more tackles, interceptions and turnovers.

That’s partly a product of Bayer Leverkusen’s system, of course, and Frimpong’s role in Alonso’s 3-5-2 is far closer to that of an out-and-out winger to that of a defender of any kind. It’s hard to imagine Frimpong playing in a back four, but then again Slot has always preferred a back three in the past. If the contract situation necessitates changes anyway, it wouldn’t be a shock to see moves made that allowed Slot to move back to his preferred formation, creating the space for Frimpong to play that more aggressive role.

Apparently, Frimpong would be available for around £34m thanks to a release clause in his contract, a deal which allegedly has Manchester United sniffing around as well. For a wing-back who can register 15-plus goals and assists a season, it’s a very reasonable price tag – but if he was just shoved into the Liverpool line-up as an Alexander-Arnold clone then it would probably result in a rude awakening.

This is a player who needs to play in a system which plays to his strengths and which allows him to get as far down the pith as possible as often as possible (and as wide as possible). He isn’t a defender, he isn’t a midfielder and he needs the right set-up in which to thrive. But if that’s the direction Liverpool end up heading in, he could be a very fine signing indeed – but even someone as good as Frimpong wouldn’t heal the wound left by losing a player like Alexander-Arnold for free on his own.