How does Liverpool target Frimpong compare with Alexander-Arnold?

How do you solve a problem like Trent Alexander-Arnold?

With Liverpool’s star right-back set for a summer move to Real Madrid, Arne Slot is tasked with replacing one of the Premier League’s great full-backs.

The England defender has come under criticism from his own supporters for the move but Liverpool have been quick to act in pursuit of a replacement with Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong emerging as a target.

Initial overtures towards a deal with the Netherlands international have begun and continued in recent days.

When it comes to going forward, Alexander-Arnold is crucial to everything that Liverpool do.

His 18 goals and 64 assists tell only half the tale of how vital he has been to their success in recent years.

But while Alexander-Arnold relies on his remarkable range of passing to create chances, Frimpong is a far more direct player, instead opting to dribble past his opponent.

A product of Manchester City’s academy, the 24-year-old is regarded as more of a wing-back or right-winger who can drive at a defence rather than a full-back.

“If you can find him quickly and he can approach a full-back, he’s lethal,” the Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman said earlier this year.

This season, the former Celtic player has recorded more than double the number of dribbles made by Alexander-Arnold but less than half the number of passes.

Over 190 games for Leverkusen, Frimpong has managed 30 goals and 44 assists, helping them to win the Bundesliga last year.

On average this season he has been involved in more goals than Alexander-Arnold but, while the Liverpool defender has been known to step into midfield for club and country, Frimpong prefers to be positioned on the right.

Alexander-Arnold’s defending has often been scrutinised throughout his time at Liverpool, with his ability on the ball being offered up as mitigation for a perceived weakness in defence.

His capabilities have often been called into question with Roy Keane calling his defending “schoolboy” earlier this season while there was a supposed lack of trust from former England boss Gareth Southgate.

Having largely been deployed as an attacking wing-back for Leverkusen, he is not often asked to defend.

After leaving Frimpong out of his Netherlands squad in 2023, Koeman said: “He plays almost as a right winger. My right-back should be able to defend well in the first place and I have my doubts about that.”

Frimpong’s stats suggest a lack of involvement defensively with just 22% of his touches this season coming in his own half, compared to Alexander-Arnold’s 48%.

Many fans will hear of Frimpong’s potential arrival and wonder why it is necessary with Conor Bradley among Liverpool’s ranks.

Slot has said the club “have a lot in confidence” in Bradley being able to step up, with the Northern Ireland international covering Alexander-Arnold’s injury spell last season.

He has made 17 league appearances this season – starting just five matches – including most recently against Arsenal because Slot said “he needs playing time to be better prepared for next season”.

Bradley also produced an eye-catching display against Real Madrid in the Champions League in November.