Man Utd ramp up deadly attacking signing after Fabrizio Romano confirms first move, as fearsome target does what Solskjaer flop can’t
Fabrizio Romano confirmed Man Utd have taken the first step towards signing a huge attacking upgrade, with the player in question doing what a current star can’t.
Erik ten Hag is known to be seeking a more explosive option at right-back. Diogo Dalot has done little wrong and has comfortably beaten Aaron Wan-Bissaka in the selection battle this season.
That’s led to speculation the former Crystal Palace star could be the fall guy if Ten Hag secures a new arrival. One Premier League side who failed with a late deadline day swoop could reignite their interest.
Dalot’s future despite being a key cog in the Manchester United machine is also far from certain.
His contract expires next summer, with United holding an option for a further 12 months. However, there’s been murmurings Dalot is not all that convinced by the Ten Hag project.
The Portuguese is also attracting heavyweight suitors, with Real Madrid and Barcelona both monitoring his progress.
As such, signing a new right-back looks a wise investment one way or another, and Fabrizio Romano has shed new light on United’s interest in Jeremie Frimpong.
The Bayer Leverkusen star may be familiar to British fans from his time at Celtic. Frimpong played for the Scottish giant between 2019-21 before earning an £11.5m move to Leverkusen last year. Prior to his time at Celtic, Frimong was in Manchester City’s academy.
Frimpong frightening from deep
Since moving to Germany Frimpong has been near unstoppable from right wing-back.
Indeed, he bagged two goals and provided nine assists in 34 appearances last year. He’s gone from strength to strength this time around, with a remarkable five goals in Leverkusen’s 11 league matches this season.
Clearly, he’d represent an attacking upgrade on both Dalot and Wan-Bissaka and Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg recently confirmed United are interested.
Romano has added to that prior report, tweeting Man Utd ‘sent their scouts’ to follow Frimpong upon taking their first step towards a future transfer, potentially in January.
However, the transfer guru was keen to point out the Red Devils aren’t the only admirers.
While not naming specific clubs, Romano noted there are ‘a lot’ of other sides who also like what they’ve seen, and have also launched scouting missions to gather more intel.
Frimpong does what Man Utd flop can’t
One factor that could aid Frimpong’s chances of earning a blockbuster move would be starring at the World Cup.
Frimpong is yet to make his senior Netherlands debut, though has turned out for the Under-21s.
However, he was recently named in manager Louis van Gaal’s provisional 39-man squad ahead of the tournament in Qatar later this year.
A 39-man squad may sound excessive, though that’s nothing in comparison to what Gareth Southgate is expected to name. Various outlets have all claimed England are bizarrely due to announce a preliminary squad of their own totalling 55 names.
Frimpong is in the 39-man Dutch version, though isn’t joined by Donny van de Beek.
The former Ajax midfielder was once a mainstay for his national side, making 16 appearances between 2018-20.
However, since being signed by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2020, Van de Beek’s career has nosedived.
Despite costing a hefty £35m, Van de Beek has only made 53 appearances for the Red Devils, with the vast majority of those coming from the bench.
A loan spell at Everton last season did little to reverse his downwards trend and he’s now all but certain to play no part in Qatar.
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