Ruud Gullit tells Andoni Iraola £29.5m Liverpool defender is Mo Salah’s replacement at right wing – ‘that is his best position’
Ruud Gullit believes that Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola should play Jeremie Frimpong at right wing and explains why the Reds should not have sacked Arne Slot at the end of last season.
Frimpong has been on the books of Liverpool since the summer of 2025, when he joined from Bayer Leverkusen for £29.5million.
The 25-year-old right-back arrived at Anfield with a strong reputation, having starred for Bayer in the Bundesliga and in Europe.
Also able to play as a right wing-back, Frimpong won the Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal under then Bayer manager Xabi Alonso in 2023/24 and reached the final of the Europa League that season, too.
Frimpong has not been a huge hit at Liverpool, though, with the Netherlands international having injury problems and not being at his best consistently.
The 25-year-old has made five appearances for Liverpool so far this season.
Former Chelsea and Netherlands international midfielder Gullit believes that Liverpool manager Iraola needs to deploy Frimpong at right wing.
Egyptian legend Mo Salah left Liverpool at the end of the season.
While Liverpool signed Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer transfer window, the France international winger prefers to play on the left flank.
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Jeremie Frimpong is Mo Salah’s right-wing replacement for Liverpool
Gullit told ComeOn: “The problem with Jeremie Frimpong is that he is a right winger who Liverpool are playing as a right-back and that’s not his position.
“He’s a right winger, he’s not a right-back.
“Look, nobody can replace Mohamed Salah.
“That is too difficult.
“But that is his best position.
“Can Xabi Alonso offer him a better situation at Chelsea?
“Well, the market is closed.
“Let the people talk.”
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Liverpool wrong to sack Arne Slot
Gullit has also said that Liverpool should not have sacked Slot, who guided the Reds to the Premier League title in the 2024/25 campaign but lost his managerial job at Anfield at the end of last season.
The pundit said: “I think Liverpool have made a mistake getting rid of Arne Slot.
“A club like Liverpool cannot create this sacking culture, getting rid of a manager a year after he came in and won the Premier League.
“We see it at other clubs but now at Liverpool and it makes me question who is responsible for it.
“I’m very curious about who made that decision because someone made that call.
“They signed all these good players but that doesn’t mean that they can have instant success.
“It’s too difficult to work in that way.
“It doesn’t happen like that no matter who you buy.
“I was lucky as a manager. Really lucky.
“At Chelsea we signed Gianfranco Zola, Roberto Di Matteo and Frank Leboeuf, but that was because I knew exactly what I wanted, and I knew the players that I needed to come in. They were my spine.
“But you need to be lucky as a manager, and I was. Then again, maybe I just bought some very good players?”
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