Florian Wirtz & Jeremie Frimpong Double Deal Is Exactly What Liverpool Need to Replace Trent | OneFootball

Trent Alexander-Arnold has redefined the role of a right-back, but in doing so, he’s also highlighted a tactical headache for Liverpool as he prepares to join Real Madrid this summer. As the team leans on his creativity in advanced areas, the right flank is increasingly exposed, leaving Liverpool with a gap that can’t be fixed by one player alone.

To truly balance their system, Liverpool must consider signing both a specialist right-back and a creative midfielder who can shoulder Trent’s playmaking burden without sacrificing defensive solidity.

The answer: Wirtz and Frimpong.

Bayer Leverkusen Duo Answer to Liverpool’s Trent Fear

A double swoop for Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong would make perfect sense for Liverpool, with Alexander-Arnold destined for the exit door.

Wirtz, one of Europe’s most gifted young playmakers, would bring the kind of creativity and vision that Liverpool increasingly rely on from Trent in to their midfield, offering a natural replacement for his creativity, albeit from another area of the pitch.

Meanwhile, his Dutch teammate is a dynamic, attack-minded right-back who thrives in advanced positions, mirroring the kind of wide threat Alexander-Arnold once provided but with greater defensive discipline and pace. Together, the pair could replicate and even refine the dual role Trent has come to embody, without asking a single player to carry the full tactical load.

You’d have to search high and low to find another right-back like Trent, and even then you probably wouldn’t find one. The inevitable answer is to tweak tactically and bring in a couple of players that add options to Arne Slot’s squad.

How Likely Are Liverpool to Get This Done?

Reliable journalists have already reported that a deal for Frimpong is pretty much done and could be announced as early as next week. Interestingly, the same journalists have confirmed that Liverpool’s interest in the German attacking midfielder is concrete and that the club’s hierarchy have held talks with his camp; they do, however, face stiff competition from Manchester City and Bayern Munich for his signature.

If Liverpool can close both of these deals, it will go a long way to ensuring that the blow of losing Alexander-Arnold is softened.

How Life After Alexander-Arnold Will Look For The Reds

Losing a local player, particularly one that grew up supporting the club, is never easy for any club to take, but it feels even more so when it comes to Liverpool due to different reasons, some on-field reasons, some not.

What this double swoop would mean for the Reds is greater depth. Arne Slot would have Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley as two very different but equally strong candidates vying for the right-back role in his side, as well as the likes of Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah, who could fill in as and when required.

Florian Wirtz would offer the side a more advanced threat in the midfield, and while the Reds already possess some very good options in the midfield, his creativity would be a massive boost and his influence on the side would definitely be a big statement ahead of Liverpool’s title defence. It’s no coincidence that the midfielder is seen as the natural successor to Kevin De Bruyne by Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.

A New Era, Rather Than a Replacement

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s departure will mark the end of an era, one defined by a player who broke the mould of his position and forced tactical change at the highest level. But as Liverpool look to evolve under Arne Slot, the goal won’t be to find a like-for-like replacement because there simply isn’t one; such is the role of the player in this Liverpool team. Instead, it’s about fine-tuning the system, much like Arne Slot had already done when succeeding Jürgen Klopp, to make the team less reliant on a single individual’s unique talent for a player in his position.

A potential double signing of the two Leverkusen players wouldn’t just plug the gaps Trent leaves; it would signal a shift in identity towards a more balanced, layered team built around collective strength rather than singular genius. If Liverpool can pull it off, they won’t just be preparing for life after Alexander-Arnold; they’ll be looking at laying the foundation for the next great chapter in the club’s history, a history that continues to write itself.