LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Liverpool quickly secured a replacement for the departing Trent Alexander-Arnold by signing Netherlands right back Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen on Friday.
Frimpong returns to England on a five-year contract after Liverpool triggered a release clause reported to be between 35 to 40 million euros ($39.7 million to $45.4 million) to sign the player.
He developed in the Manchester City academy, which he joined at age 9, and went to Celtic in 2019 without ever playing in the Premier League.
“It went quite easy. Liverpool came and said they had interest, and obviously for me it was a no-brainer," Frimpong said in a Liverpool statement.
Frimpong said he told his agents, “Whatever you guys do, just get this done.”
He is widely expected to be joined at Liverpool soon by his Leverkusen teammate, star attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz. Liverpool has reportedly offered 109 million pounds ($146.8 million), including add-ons, for the 22-year-old Germany international.
The 24-year-old Frimpong has blossomed since arriving in 2021 at Leverkusen, where he was an attacking wing back under Xabi Alonso. He was one of the German team's star players in its unbeaten Bundesliga campaign in the 2023-24 season.
Frimpong is a like-for-like replacement for Alexander-Arnold, who announced on May 5 he was leaving Liverpool after a 20-year association. Liverpool received a fee on Friday to let Alexander-Arnold leave in time to play for Real Madrid at the Club World Cup.
Frimpong will compete with Conor Bradley for the right back position and give Liverpool manager Arne Slot the option of switching to a 3-5-2.
Frimpong has played 12 times for the Netherlands, though his international opportunities have been limited because of competition for right wing back with Inter Milan star Denzel Dumfries. Frimpong more recently played as an out-an-out winger against Spain in the Nations League playoffs.
Born in Amsterdam, Frimpong grew up in Manchester and played for City's academy. He has said he had a hard time adapting to Celtic after leaving City in 2019 as he was farther away from family, but felt more comfortable in Germany.
Frimpong’s departure increases the scope of the rebuild Leverkusen and its new coach Erik ten Hag face following the departure of Xabi Alonso for Real Madrid.
Along with Wirtz being expected to join Liverpool, Leverkusen’s longest-serving outfield player, defender Jonathan Tah, is leaving for Bayern Munich after 10 years at the club. The German champion announced his signing on Thursday.
Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes said Frimpong’s career trajectory showed the club's way of doing business.
That means “bringing in a young, highly talented player from a lower league, developing him into a key player to achieve our goals, and thus making him attractive to top European clubs," Rolfes said.
“Through this transfer we can and will put together Leverkusen’s squad of the future."
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - Leverkusen's Jeremie Frimpong celebrates after he scored his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and TSG Hoffenheim at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
