Leverkusen pay reported €11M fee to sign Frimpong from Celtic

LEVERKUSEN, Germany (AP) — Bayer Leverkusen signed Dutch right back Jeremie Frimpong from Scottish team Celtic on Wednesday.

The Bundesliga club said the 20-year-old Frimpong signed a deal through June 2025.

"He's technically strong, extraordinarily fast and has a strong urge to attack," said Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes, who described Frimpong’s signing as a "transfer for the future."

Frimpong, who scored scored three goals in 36 Scottish Premiership games for Celtic, is Leverkusen's second Dutch defensive signing of the winter transfer period after it signed the 23-year-old Timothy Fosu-Mensah from Manchester United.

The club had been searching for reinforcements at right back as injury-prone Lars Bender is ending his career after this season and the injured Santiago Arias’ loan deal from Atlético Madrid is due to expire. Mitchell Weiser, another alternative, is also injured.

Kicker magazine reported that Leverkusen was paying around €11 million ($13.3 million), possibly rising to €13.5 million ($16.3 million) for Frimpong.

The Dutchman, who joined Celtic in 2019 after several years with Manchester City's youth teams, was quoted by Leverkusen as saying the switch to Germany gives him a"great chance to play in one of the best European leagues."