Bayer Leverkusen's Jeremie Frimpong labels Celtic spell the "best part of my career so far"

By David Walton

October 12, 2021

Bayer Leverkusen right-back Jeremie Frimpong has labelled his Celtic spell the “best part of my career so far”.

Frimpong left Parkhead for Germany back in January in an £11.5m deal [Scottish Sun]. It was a move that surprised many, with Frimpong having only been at the Hoops for 16 months and left with plenty of development left within him.

Nowadays, he’s tearing things up in the Leverkusen first-team. Frimpong already has 5 assists in 10 appearances this season [Transfermarkt], and it’s clear he’s taking to life in the Bundesliga well.

Yet even though he appears to be finding new heights in Germany, Frimpong still considers his Celtic spell to be the peak of his career so far.

As quoted by Dutch outlet Het Parool, Frimpong made the following remarks on his time at Parkhead: “I hardly spoke to my agent. I knew about the interest but not about the agreement. It was crazy, so I couldn’t say goodbye (to his Man City teammates).

“That was probably the best part of my career so far.

“I thought (after the £11.5m bid from Leverkusen) ‘wow, I am suddenly worth so much from nothing’. And of course, I hoped and thought that I would one day play in a big league. But so soon?”

Jeremie Frimpong still has strong affection for Celtic after Leverkusen switch

It’s clear that Frimpong still holds an attachment to Celtic. That he does genuinely appreciate his time here is always a pleasing thing to hear. Especially considering the sudden manner of his departure.

For me, Frimpong gets a bit of unfair stick for leaving Celtic in the first place. We all admitted that last season was a total disaster from start to finish. That Parkhead was toxic under Neil Lennon and that the place is now in an absolute mess which Ange Postecoglou is trying to clean up.

However, when some look at Frimpong’s departure they look at it with disdain. As if he shouldn’t have turned his back on the club so easily. But to be fair, we have to take the emotional aspect out of this.

Frimpong didn’t grow up a Celtic supporter. He wasn’t stepped in Parkhead tradition as a youngster and doesn’t have tales to tell of watching the club before he arrived. Celtic doesn’t have the emotional connection to the Dutch right-back as it does for you and me.

You can hardly say he made the wrong decision either. He’s flying in the Bundesliga, one of the best leagues in world football. It’ll boost both his international prospects and put him in the spotlight of even bigger clubs. Look what Leverkusen did for the likes of Kai Havertz and Heung-Min Son for example.

Frimpong will have his own ambitions of doing similar. Even though last season didn’t go to plan, it’s difficult to blame the Dutchman for having some ambition.

In other news, Celtic can’t afford another Giakoumakis-like situation as Chris Jullien nears return