Frimpong’s Liverpool future depends on winning over Iraola

Jeremie Frimpong’s absence from the Netherlands’ World Cup squad is a sharp marker of how far his first season at Liverpool fell short of expectations. Now, with a new-look team taking shape and Andoni Iraola in the picture, the defender has to make his case again.

While Liverpool teammates Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch and Cody Gakpo helped the Netherlands finish top of their World Cup group, Frimpong was left out. Head coach Ronald Koeman dropped the 25-year-old from his provisional squad after a difficult campaign at Anfield, where injuries kept him out for significant stretches.

The omission matters. Frimpong arrived as Liverpool’s first signing of a busy transfer summer, after the club activated his £29.5 million release clause at Bayer Leverkusen late last May. He was expected to step into the role left by Trent Alexander-Arnold. Instead, a hamstring problem forced him off after an hour of the opening game against Bournemouth, an early setback that set the tone for a disrupted season.

Promise on the right, questions at the back

A second hamstring injury, suffered early in a Champions League match at Eintracht Frankfurt, kept Frimpong from starting another Premier League game until after Christmas. When he returned, he helped create Gravenberch’s goal in a narrow 2-1 win over Wolves.

Frimpong looked more effective further forward. With Mohamed Salah away at the Africa Cup of Nations, he started several matches on the right wing. His pace and direct runs helped Liverpool build goals against Tottenham Hotspur, Fulham and Marseille, while Alexander Isak was unavailable.

Here’s the thing: those flashes show Liverpool have a useful attacking option, but they don’t settle whether Frimpong can earn a place in the side under Iraola. The Netherlands omission adds pressure; his first season gives the new manager reasons to ask questions. What matters now is whether Frimpong can stay fit and show that his best work can translate into a consistent role.

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Frimpong’s absence turned a depth problem into a decision

The bigger concern for Liverpool is how often they were left without a settled right-back. Jeremie Frimpong started 12 Premier League matches, playing at right-back in only seven. Conor Bradley also started 12, and came off at half-time in three. Between them, neither was in the starting lineup for half the league season. Frimpong’s third hamstring injury, picked up in the opening minutes against Qarabag in January, derailed his progress. He returned by the end of February, but couldn’t recapture the form he’d shown over the festive period and missed the World Cup. Bradley has been out since early January with serious bone and ligament damage to his knee, and there’s no return date. [Jeremie Frimpong, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister celebrate Liverpool’s second goal in Marseille]( /articles/497/VefZJ931Ota5Q2I9MFKGnuYkOmjL5PEd.webp) Liverpool explored cover in January, enquiring about Inter Milan’s Denzil Dumfries and offering to loan Lutsharel Geertrudia, then on loan at Sunderland from RB Leipzig. The loan deal fell through. Dumfries is now at Real Madrid, ending any prospect of renewing that pursuit. Then the coaching picture changed: Arne Slot was sacked and Andoni Iraola appointed. Liverpool must decide whether to recruit another right-back or wait for Bradley, their likely first choice when fit, while risking another season of patchwork selection. The available information doesn’t explain how Iraola plans to use Frimpong, which makes the recruitment call harder to read. Frimpong has spent time in Los Angeles following an individually tailored training programme with coach Nigus Kidane. Iraola’s arrival gives him a chance to reset, but he’ll need to show the new manager he fits the team and, if Liverpool don’t sign cover, shoulder more responsibility while Bradley is unavailable. After a year marked by injuries and disappointing form, Frimpong has plenty to prove. The opportunity is there. So is the pressure.