According to Goal, newly appointed Netherlands head coach Xavi Hernandez did not include 25-year-old right-back Jeremie Frimpong in the Dutch squad for the UEFA Nations League match against Serbia. This was revealed by the official squad list submitted by the Dutch FA to UEFA.

Frimpong also did not feature in the 1-1 draw against Germany. Although the right-back was included in the Netherlands squad for that match, he remained on the bench for the entire 90 minutes. For the Serbia match, he was not even named in the 23-man squad.

For Frimpong, this omission represents another low point in a professional crisis spanning roughly a year. In 2024, he won the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double with Bayer Leverkusen. In the summer of 2024, Liverpool signed the pacey right-back, paying €40 million to the Bundesliga club.

Under Liverpool manager Arne Slot, Frimpong arrived at Anfield as a player Slot specifically wanted to bring in, and he initially appeared to have secured the right-back position in a four-man defense. However, persistent leg injuries hampered his progress. He missed 10 of the first 16 Premier League matches due to injury. As a result, before the winter break, he made only 11 appearances in 27 official matches, contributing 1 goal and 1 assist.

After the new year and recovering from his injury, Frimpong was finally able to play more regularly, but he rarely impressed. In Slot's four-man defense system, he showed clear defensive vulnerabilities; at Leverkusen, he had played as a right wing-back in a three-man defense. Even when pushing forward in attack, he failed to deliver the expected impact, finishing the season with just 2 goals and 2 assists in 35 appearances.

In October, shortly before Frimpong suffered a longer absence due to leg problems, former Liverpool player Don Hutchison commented: "I've watched every Liverpool game I could this season. In some of them, like against Southampton (2-1 in the League Cup in late September), he kept losing the ball. Simple passes went astray, and his confidence was constantly draining away."

At the time, Hutchison had already suggested that Liverpool manager Slot should drop the Dutch player and look for alternatives. He said: "I would start Conor Bradley without question. With Frimpong's current form, he doesn't even deserve a starting spot."

Last summer, Frimpong also missed out on a place in the Netherlands' World Cup squad due to his poor form at Liverpool. In the tournament held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, Arsenal player Jurrien Timber and Real Madrid player Denzel Dumfries earned the trust of then-Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman.

Even at club level, Frimpong's situation has not truly improved. At the start of the season, new Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola still considered him the priority at right-back, but now the centre-back Araujo, signed from Barcelona, is preferred.

Statistics support Iraola's choice. In the 4 games Frimpong started, Liverpool conceded 6 goals; in the 3 games Araujo started, Liverpool did not concede a single goal. Former England international Danny Murphy recently criticized this situation.

Danny Murphy stated on talkSPORT that, in addition to Frimpong, Liverpool left-back Miloš Kerkez is also "not good enough" and does not meet Liverpool's standards. He said: "They're not going to improve. They don't have those qualities. They work hard, but their crossing accuracy and decision-making in the final third are poor."

AF's PC site is now live! Browse full news, comments, match details and stats on your computer. Visit: www.allfootballapp.com