Celtic boss Neil Lennon on Jeremie Frimpong’s European status

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Celtic manager Neil Lennon has hinted that Jeremie Frimpong could be included in our Europa League squad for the last-32.

The summer signing from Manchester City didn’t manage to make the squad for the group stages. Instead, Lenny went for the more experienced Hatem Abd Elhamed and Moritz Bauer.

But that was before Frimpong had even made his debut for the club. Nine appearances and three assists later (Transfermarkt), however, Frimpong is one of the most exciting talents at the club. You can now look back on that decision from Lenny and wonder whether it was the right one.

Yet as the manager spoke to Celtic TV in an exclusive interview, he admitted that Frimpong’s ineligibility is something the club will look at for the next round.

“We know Jerry (Frimpong) is unregistered, and we’ll have to look at that for the second half of the season.”

Good news for Frimpong, bad news for Bauer?

At the time of the decision, nobody batted an eyelid. Nothing was really known about Frimpong, whilst Moritz Bauer was clearly the second choice behind Elhamed.

That is far from the case now. There could even be a debate had regarding whether the former Man City man should actually be first choice from now on. His talent is scary, and he’s shown incredible confidence on the ball for such an inexperienced talent.

Looking back, it’s a shame the decision was made by Neil to freeze Frimpong out of the Europa squad. Playing him against Rennes and Cluj respectively would’ve given us the chance to see where he’s at defensively. Or, at the very least, whether he would be able to impose his game on better sides.

The manager can’t be blamed though. We all would’ve done the same thing in his position. But as for Bauer, this could potentially be a blow to his European chances.

He has a massive opportunity against Rennes if Neil selects him on Thursday. After this remark from the manager, you have to say that the importance of Thursday night has heightened for the Austrian. He’s the only available right-back we have for the game, so he must make it count.

However, if Lennon does register Frimpong for the last-32, it’s certainly going to be exciting to see what he can do against a team in the latter stages of European football.