As far as their incomings are concerned, Manchester City have every reason to be proud of their signings.
Rayan Cherki has the makings of a potential superstar, possibly even better than Florian Wirtz, who rejected Manchester City to sign for Liverpool.
Tijjani Reijnders looked like the real deal during the FIFA Club World Cup, with Manchester City News’ transfer expert Graeme Bailey even revealing that the Sky Blues are delighted with how he has settled into proceedings.
Considering Jeremy Doku has lauded Rayan Ait-Nouri already and James Trafford is set to join Manchester City, it’s safe to say that Pep Guardiola’s men have had a fruitful time in the summer transfer window.
Man City will be upset about missing out on Liverpool star Jeremie Frimpong
Manchester City News exclusively revealed that Pep Guardiola’s side tried to sign Jeremie Frimpong.
However, ultimately, Liverpool ended up signing Frimpong for £29.6 million (The Athletic), which would have upset City as he perfectly fits into their system and considering right-back is arguably the weakest area of their squad.
Since the back end of last season, Pep Guardiola has deployed his full-backs high and wide, an experiment that is likely to continue in the following campaign as they have signed an attacking left-back like Ait-Nouri.
Jeremie Frimpong has a wealth of experience in terms of playing as a wing-back at Bayer Leverkusen, a role where he cemented his reputation as one of the best full-backs in Europe and going forward, he would have been an upgrade on both of Manchester City’s right-backs in Matheus Nunes and Rico Lewis.
The Dutchman’s numbers reflect how influential he could have been as an attack-minded right-back at Leverkusen, registering 30 goals and 40 assists in 190 games.
| JEREMIE FRIMPONG’S STATS AT BAYER LEVERKUSEN | |
| APPEARANCES | 190 |
| GOALS | 30 |
| ASSISTS | 40 |
With Manchester City surrendering their quest for Tino Livramento as their successor to Kyle Walker, things would have been so much easier for them had they beaten Liverpool to Frimpong’s arrival.
Considering the former Celtic defender came through City’s academy, he knows the club and Manchester inside and out — which would have made it relatively simple for him to adapt to life at the Etihad Stadium again.
Jeremie Frimpong admitted he wanted to sign for Man City
In 2023, Frimpong admitted he wished to re-join Manchester City before eventually becoming a Liverpool player.
The Bundesliga winner said: “It would be great, but I don’t know.”
“They have just won the Champions League and are the best team in the world. In the future we will see.”
However, now City must do everything they can to sign a new right-back as their domestic rivals such as Liverpool and Arsenal have top-class options within their ranks, such as Frimpong and Bradley as well as Jurrien Timber and Ben White, respectively.
