Man City now chasing £34m "monster" who they think can replace Walker

Man City now chasing £34m “monster” who they think can replace Walker

Manchester City star Phil Foden added another goal to his growing collection of impressive strikes in the 3-3 draw with Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

The Cityzens academy graduate has now racked up 22 goals and 10 assists in 45 appearances for the club in all competitions this season, and is further cementing himself as one of the best players to have come through the youth ranks.

Romeo Lavia and Cole Palmer, who both came through the same academy, are now at Premier League rivals Chelsea, whilst one of the most valuable former City youth stars is now being eyed up for a return to The Etihad.

Man City’s interest in Bundesliga star

According to TEAMtalk, City are now chasing a deal to sign Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen for Pep Guardiola as a replacement for Kyle Walker this summer.

He spent nine years in the City academy, between 2010 and 2019, before being sold to Scottish giants Celtic in 2019, who then moved him on to Leverkusen in January 2021.

Transfermarkt values him at €50m (£42.7m) and that makes him the fourth-most valuable active former City academy star, behind Michael Olise, Palmer, and Foden.

TEAMtalk now state that City have identified him as a target this year as they have been on the search for a replacement for veteran defender Walker, and seemingly believe that Frimpong is good enough to be the long-term successor in that role.

However, the report states that his £34m price tag has attracted interest from other clubs, as Real Madrid and Liverpool are also looking at the Dutch international.

This means that it may well take a fight from City to secure his signature ahead of two of their European and domestic rivals, who are also eyeing new right-backs this summer.

Why Manchester City should re-sign Jeremie Frimpong

Frimpong, described as a “monster” in the final third by The United Stand’s Beth Tucker, has been in terrific form for Leverkusen as a wing-back this season and could provide an extra attacking threat to Guardiola’s side.

The 23-year-old starlet has produced 12 goals and 11 assists in 36 appearances for the German side in all competitions so far this term, which includes eight goals and eight assists in 26 league matches.

Walker, meanwhile, has only racked up six goals and 21 assists in 292 games across his entire City career, which speaks to how impressive Frimpong’s form has been in Germany.

23/24 season

Jeremie Frimpong (Bundesliga)

Kyle Walker (Premier League)

Appearances

26

26

Sofascore rating

7.31

7.12

Goals

8

0

Big chances created

8

5

Duel success rate

50%

54%

Ball recoveries per game

3.1

5.1

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, Frimpong has the edge over the England international when it comes to making an impact at the top end of the pitch.

However, the former Tottenham Hotspur speedster has won a higher percentage of his defensive duels and won the ball back twice more per game on average, which suggests that the Leverkusen man still has plenty to improve on out of possession.

That is an area of his game that could be developed under Guardiola over the years to come, as he still has plenty of time left to progress at the age of just 23.