Jeremie Frimpong's remarkable rise since departing Celtic almost two years ago has been rewarded after the Bayer Leverkusen full-back was included in the Netherlands squad for the World Cup.
Frimpong's form of five goals and two assists from 14 games this season has reportedly caught the eye of Manchester United which prompted Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes to state that the £10million swoop to land the defender from the Scottish Premiership giants is the Bundesliga club's scouting blueprint. And that clearly hasn't gone unnoticed by Dutch boss Louis van Gaal who has chosen Frimpong as part of his 26-man group that will jet out to Qatar next week.
The 21-year-old starlet is uncapped on the senior stage and was eligible to represent his country of birth, the Netherlands, or Ghana, where his mother descends from. But he has chosen the European outfit which he made four caps at under-21's level and will be joined by former Parkhead hero Virgil Van Dijk, who was a cert to be involved.
The Netherlands have been drawn in Group A which contains Senegal, Ecuador and tournament hosts Qatar. They failed to qualify for the Russia showpiece in 2018 after finishing third in 2014 and runners up in 2010.
Speaking about Frimpong recently in an interview with Bulinews.com, Rolfes said: "His profile as a fast player with incredible acceleration and good technique was clear, but the conclusion wasn’t, as he could improve other things. He created three or four possible chances per game, but his last ball wasn’t that good.
“I thought that if I didn't put my trust in our coaches to help him improve that, then when would I ever choose to sign a player? Because how many full-backs are able to create three or four possible chances? Not at lot.
“His ability to accelerate and decelerate is world-class. If you’re world-class at something at Celtic and in the Bundesliga, that’s also the case in other leagues. There were other things he had to improve when he came, and he has done fantastic. He has the right ambition to work on himself.
"The signing of Frimpong is a good example of how we use data. We were looking for a fast full-back, and he was directly on the list. Then we went deeper and analysed him."
READ NEXT
