Neil Lennon insists he’s bursting with pride that protégé Jeremie Frimpong is set for another major move this summer that will massively benefit Celtic.
Lennon snapped up the marauding full back from Man City’s academy for around £300,000 in 2019 after spotting his talent in a closed-door game at Lennoxtown and 18 months later he was sold to Bayer Leverkusen for an eye-watering £11million.
That was sensational business for the Hoops but they are set to cash in again with Leverkusen reputedly slapping a £35million price tag on the young Dutchman’s head as Arsenal and Man United vie for his services.
Celtic have a sell-on clause agreed with the Bundesliga side which has been touted as high as 30 per cent so after selling Jota for £25m they could be in for another massive windfall of over £10m.
Speaking to www.bettingsites.co.uk Lennon said: “He was brilliant for me. I saw him playing for Man City’s 21s at Lennoxtown and I really liked the look of him.
“It was great to see him in the flesh and it’s so much better than looking at Y Scout and watching videos.
“He came in and he just blew us all away with his pace and his quality – and his enthusiasm. He’s got a very infectious personality. He’s a lovely boy but he could be quite naughty at times too.
“He took the plunge to go to Germany and he has excelled and I’m really proud of him.
“He’s deceptive. He’s small but he’s so powerful, good on the ball and quite different from a lot of fullbacks out there.
“I follow his career and I hope he gets the move that he wants now.
“It will mean more money for Celtic – and that’s the model: find a young player who can enhance the team and then sell him on for a profit.
“We got a bit lucky with him and got him for about £300,000 because he was a wee bit under the radar but it worked out very well for Celtic.
“We had a few of these with Fraser Forster, Victor Wanyama and Virgil van Dyk and I always follow guys like that – but not just the Celtic lads, Hibs boys too like John McGinn and Ryan Porteous who have obviously gone on to do very well.”
