Jeremie Frimpong nears Celtic transfer exit as Neil Lennon reveals defender ‘wants to leave’

Celtic right-back Jeremie Frimpong is on the verge of leaving Parkhead and is currently in talks with Bayer Leverkusen.

The 20-year-old is close to rubber-stamping a switch to the Bundesliga after telling Neil Lennon “he wanted to leave” Glasgow.

Frimpong made an immediate impact with Celtic in his debut season but has endured an inconsistent campaign with the Hoops currently 23 points behind Rangers.

The Netherlands U21 star arrived from Manchester City in August 2019 in a deal worth around £350,000 and it’s understood Pep Guardiola’s side retain a 30 per cent sell-on fee for the rampaging defender. He has two-and-a-half years remaining on his current deal.

Lennon admitted there wasn’t much the club could do after an offer in excess of £10m was submitted.

He said: “We received a really robust offer for him. We are disappointed to lose him but that’s football.”

Celtic are poised for major change but many will be surprised that Frimpong is the first man to leave with the likes of Odsonne Edouard, Kris Ajer and Olivier Ntcham also attracting interest from elsewhere.

A switch could also force the Parkhead side back into the market with Hatem Elhamed expected to return home to Israel due to family issues exacerbated by the pandemic.

That has led to Ajer playing extended minutes at right-back but the Norway standout could return to central defence with Chris Jullien set to miss an extended spell after his serious knee injury.

Frimpong was strongly linked with Roma last month but the youngster was quick to play down any potential Parkhead exit.

He said: “I am just focused on Celtic right now, I am at Celtic so I am focused on that.”