Jeremie Frimpong is facing around six weeks on the sidelines, sources have told Liverpool Confidential, in another significant blow to the out-of-form Premier League champions.
The Dutch full back has had a tough start to life back in England after his move from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, with Frimpong already missing several early-season games with a hamstring injury.
He limped out of the 5-1 thrashing of Eintracht Frankfurt last Wednesday with what looked to be a recurrence of that injury and has already spent a week out, so an early December return is the most likely target.
The Reds, who have lost six of their last seven games, face a daunting run of fixtures against Aston Villa, Real Madrid and Manchester City in the next 10 days before the international break.
They then follow that with six matches in 17 days starting on November 22 – Nottingham Forest (h), PSV Eindhoven (h), West Ham (a), Sunderland (h), Leeds (a), Inter Milan (a). Frimpong would be hoping to return for some of that post-international break run.
Conor Bradley, the Northern Irishman who himself has had injury problems, is the only fit senior out-and-out right back. Calvin Ramsay was the standout Liverpool performer in their loss to Crystal Palace on Wednesday night and could deputise if needed, though Joe Gomez and Dominik Szoboszlai would be more likely.
Jeremie Frimpong is set for an extended period on the sidelines in a major blow to Liverpool
Calvin Ramsay, one of the few bright spots in the 3-0 defeat by Crystal Palace on Wednesday, is one of the leading candidates to deputise for the injured Frimpong
Liverpool have a number of other injury worries. Goalkeeper Alisson is not expected to play in the next week, while Alexander Isak and Curtis Jones are doubtful for Saturday’s match against Villa. Ryan Gravenberch should be OK after narrowly missing out on the trip to Brentford last weekend.
Reds keep watch over Owls kids
Liverpool have had scouts at several Sheffield Wednesday youth games this season as clubs look to snap up the best talents at the cash-stricken club who were plunged into administration last week.
Who they are watching remains unclear but Confidential has been told Chris Dowling, Liverpool’s head of academy recruitment, has been present at Wednesday games at their Middlewood Road training complex.
Arsenal and Manchester City are also on the list of those scouting Wednesday games, with City paying £1.5million this summer for Caelan Cadamarteri – whose father is Danny, once of Everton, and brother Bailey plays for the Owls first team.
Nallo consoled
A good pub quiz question for 10 years’ time: which Liverpool player was sent off in both of his first two appearances for the club? Yes, Amara Nallo is the answer. The young defender will be hoping the question ends with ‘…and then went on to have a glittering career’ rather than ‘…before never making another appearance’.
Watching him for the Under 21s and in the UEFA Youth League in recent years, the former West Ham defender, 18, is a talented individual – good on the ball, physical and fast. For his sake, let us hope he gets more chances in the coming months.
It was good, though, to learn that Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate were straight down the tunnel to console Nallo, who has had a rough time of it despite only having 16 career minutes under his belt. The senior defenders told him that mistakes happen and the main thing is putting it behind him now. It was good leadership.
Amara Nallo saw red for the second time in as many Liverpool appearances on Wednesday night
The 18-year-old was also sent off against PSV last season on his Liverpool debut
Rio is Fully Paid!
‘Fully Paid’ is the name of the brand Rio Ngumoha was wearing when his mates threw a party for him last week – and it felt rather appropriate.
The reason for celebration was that the 17-year-old had signed his first professional contract at Liverpool and so he invited a group of around eight friends up from south London for a party.
Not the sort of knees-up some readers may imagine – remember Ngumoha is not old enough to be served alcohol even if he wanted to, which he did not – but he gave a speech to those in attendance.
What a whirlwind year for Ngumoha. While his base wage might be low compared to some of his team-mates, bonuses will put him on a decent standing. It is not about the money for this player, though, and he had some nice moments in Liverpool’s loss to Palace.
Trent IS in line for Anfield return
Trent Alexander-Arnold is in line to feature in Real Madrid’s game at Anfield on Tuesday after it emerged first-choice Real right back Dani Carvajal will be on the sidelines for a significant period.
Alexander-Arnold has had a tricky time since joining the Madrid club but as Confidential reported six weeks ago, he was hopeful of returning to fitness in time for last weekend’s Clasico and thus to face Liverpool. The England man was an unused substitute in Real’s 2-1 win over Barcelona.
It will be interesting to see the reaction Alexander-Arnold gets. He was booed in the past by the Anfield crowd but the anger has died down now. Saying that, though, many Liverpool fans would take him back in a heartbeat given how much he is missed on the pitch right now.
Academy in focus: the rise of Figgy Stardust
OK, so Keyrol Figueroa was only 10 when David Bowie died. But the man they call ‘Figgy’ around Liverpool is shaping up to be a future Starman for the first team.
Yep, another poor pun, but he was one of the heroes of the weekend as the Reds’ Under 21s beat Everton 4-1 in the youth derby at Kirkby, Figueroa scoring a hat-trick to add to Ramsay’s header.
The last week was probably the 19-year-old’s brightest since joining the academy in May 2024, also shining in the thrilling 5-4 UEFA Youth League win at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Keyrol ‘Figgy Stardust’ Figueroa is shaping up to be a future Starman of the first team
The 19-year-old USA youth international is the son of former Wigan left back Maynor
The United States youth international was first spotted by Reds scouts when playing in a youth tournament for FC Dallas. He has been capped at Under 20 level by the USA but could still switch to England or Honduras, the country of his birth.
His father, Maynor, played in the Premier League for Wigan and Hull before moving to America to finish his career in Major League Soccer. He is back living in England now, though, and is playing Sunday League football for Wythenshawe FC alongside several other ex-pros.
Figueroa Jnr is one of several Liverpool kids with famous dads, after Jayden Danns (Neil), Lewis Koumas (Jason) and Prince Cisse (Djibril) – plus Finn Inglethorpe, the talented forward whose father Alex runs the academy.
‘Figgy is physical and has a presence that allows us to play over the press,’ Rob Page, the Under 21s boss told Daily Mail Sport. ‘We are seeing the game going more direct again in the Premier League, he helps us achieve that.
‘I never speak to their dads! It might help due to the information they get after the games. I don’t reach out to them directly. They will have a higher level than some to give feedback.’
Figueroa was a substitute in Liverpool’s loss to Palace on Wednesday.
Loan watch: Ajax stars have slow start
Liverpool have three people of interest at Ajax this season.
John Heitinga, one of Arne Slot’s former right-hand men, has had a difficult start to life in charge but had a big weekend where the gap to leaders Feyenoord narrowed from nine to six points.
Vitezslav Jaros is playing every week as the No 1 goalkeeper, but young midfielder James McConnell has been criticised by local media in Amsterdam. Both are there on one-year loan deals.
Young midfielder James McConnell has been criticised for his form on loan at Ajax
Vitezslav Jaros has been the No1 keeper for Ajax but his side are going through a very rough start to the season
Dutch football experts have told us this week that McConnell, like many others, is suffering from Heitinga’s constant changes to the XI. ‘It is a bad team,’ said one source. ‘The club is in crisis.’
Ajax have only lost once in the league this season but four draws have cost them and they sit fourth in the table. And they have piled on the pain in the Champions League, losing their first three league phase games including thumpings at Marseille (4-0) and Chelsea (5-1).
The good news for Slot is that his beloved Feyenoord look like the best team in the Netherlands.
The bad news is that his two loanees are struggling to settle and his good mate Heitinga is just about clinging on to his job.
