Manchester United in pole position for controversial Bayer Leverkusen deal - to sign one of the quickest players in Europe: report

Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe
Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is targeting a Bayer Leverkusen tite winner (Image credit: Getty)

Manchester United could be about to bring one of the quickest players in Europe to Old Trafford – fresh from his success at Bayer Leverkusen.

Xabi Alonso's side clinched their first-ever Bundesliga title at the weekend, lifting the Meisterschale after a 5-0 win against Werder Bremen. Die Werkself are still unbeaten in all competitions, too, and chasing a historic treble – which has led several of the continent's elite to single out their stars for summer moves.

Despite the future of Erik ten Hag still hanging heavy over Old Trafford though, plans have been drawn up for a busy summer, with new owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe targeting a Bayer Leverkusen speedster for his revolution. 

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag.

There are still question marks over Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag's future (Image credit: Getty Images)

Caught Offside says that Alonso's high-flying right-back Jeremie Frimpong is most likely to leave for Manchester United, in a move that would agitate some across the other side of the rainy city. 

The 23-year-old is the ninth-quickest player in all of Germany according to the Bundesliga's official statistics but actually began his career at Manchester City's prolific academy. City do apparently still have an interest in re-signing Frimpong, who first joined the Eastlands production line at the age of just 10. 

In FourFourTwo's view, Frimpong would be a fantastic signing for United, with Red Devils expert Matty Holt recently highlighting him as the ideal right-back to build around. At 23, he has his entire career ahead of him.

Jeremie Frimpong of Leverkusen celebrates after scoring his teams second goal during the Bundesliga match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and 1. FC Köln at BayArena on October 08, 2023 in Leverkusen, Germany. (Photo by Jörg Schüler/Bayer 04 Leverkusen via Getty Images)

Jeremie Frimpong recently won the title in Germany (Image credit: Getty Images)

Much will depend on the future at Old Trafford, however, with a new manager perhaps having a very particular idea of how he wants to use his full-backs.

Frimpong is valued at €50 million by Transfermarkt

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Mark White
Content Editor

Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.