Erik ten Hag has been given a boost in his hopes of signing Jeremie Frimpong, with the Bayer Leverkusen star favouring a return to Manchester.
Frimpong has impressed in the Bundesliga, having joined Leverkusen from Celtic in the summer of 2021. Before featuring for the Scottish giants, he spent nine years in Manchester City's academy, having first moved to the city when he was seven.
He left the Etihad Stadium in search of game-time and they now appear to be heading for a repeat of the Jadon Sancho situation. The winger also spent time in City's academy, before leaving for more opportunities and then moving to Manchester United.
According to BILD, United have their eyes on Frimpong amid his impressive season for Leverkusen. The Dutchman has made 36 appearances in all competitions, scoring eight goals and notching five assists from right-back.
That has drawn the attention of Ten Hag, who is in the market for a right-back, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Diogo Dalot failing to impress. The Red Devils have been interested in Frimpong for months and are now stepping up their chase.
And they have been boosted by claims that the right-back favours a return to Manchester. It is said he 'loves the city' following his time there with City, who spotted him playing for a local team.
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Leverkusen are ready to accept a fee in the region of £44million for the 22-year-old, who has two years remaining on his current contract. Both Bayern Munich and Barcelona are also thought to be interested in him, with Frimpong able to take his pick of suitors.
Die Werkself's sporting director Simon Rolfes has spoken highly of Frimpong. And he hinted that the right-back is ready to make the step up to a top club following a successful two years at the BayArena.
"First of all, he still has a contract with us until 2025, that's a good situation. For Jeremie, what applies to all our youngsters, the following applies to the players: they have not yet fully developed their potential," Rolfes said after Leverkusen's recent win over Schalke.
"We are then required to develop them. And Jeremie is a good example of that: He was already that fast, but he has improved enormously over the last two and a half years with the ball, how he deploys his team-mates and how he prepares goals.”
Frimpong has already dropped a hint that he is hoping to move to a team challenging for titles. The right-back already has experience of winning trophies from his time at Celtic and is desperate to add more to his personal collection.
He told Relevo: "I am very religious, I leave everything to God. He chooses my future. I play the best I can. I would like to win titles, I love that feeling. I did it with Celtic…and I want more. I want to play consistently well. Now I just want to help Bayer Leverkusen."
