Jeremie Frimpong on life at Leverkusen, Xabi Alonso and the prospect of a UEFA Europa League winners' medal

A pacy right-back, Dutch-born Jeremie Frimpong moved to England as a child and ended up in the Manchester City academy, though it took a move north to Scottish side Celtic for him to get regular first-team football.

He moved to Leverkusen in January 2021, and has established himself in the first team, discovering a new side to his game under Xabi Alonso as a regular goalscorer on his rampages up the flank. The 22-year-old spoke to UEFA.com ahead of the UEFA Europa League quarter-final first leg against Union Saint-Gilloise.

On his two years at Leverkusen

It was difficult at the start, coming from the Scottish Premier League to the Bundesliga. But of course I've had amazing coaches at Leverkusen and team-mates that have helped me improve. I've improved a lot I think. I try my best to help the team as much as possible. I like to win, so if I can use my abilities to help the team, I'm going to use it as much as I can.

On how he gets so many goals as a full-back

I feel like ever since I've come here, I've always had chances. I always get into the box. It was just about working on finishing, and I still have a lot of work to do. But I've just been getting the chances more often.

For me, it's about anything I can do: if I can score or assist, it's helping the team. If there's a better option – say we're around the box and a player is open but I can shoot – I'll pass it to my team-mate.

On playing under Xabi Alonso

Everybody knows he was a great, great player. He's won the World Cup, Champions League… a lot of trophies. So of course to have a manager like that is motivating for us players, because that's where we want to be. We want to win trophies like that, so we're lucky to have him. And he understands us as well. When he came in, everybody got motivated directly.

On what it would mean to win a European trophy

As a kid you want to win these kinds of trophies – Champions League, Europa League, World Cup – just win as many cups as possible. To win a competition like that would be amazing, but you have to get through the rounds first.

We've been winning our games so there's a good feeling in the changing room. But football is crazy. One time you can be up, another you can be down, so we have to take it step by step and try not to get too excited.