Liverpool have made headlines this summer for many reasons – from big transfer talks to squad rebuilds under Arne Slot – but one piece of business stands out above the rest. Quietly, with little of the usual noise, Liverpool secured a player who is statistically the fastest in Europe. His name is Jeremie Frimpong, and his arrival at Anfield could prove to be the difference between being Premier League champions and becoming Champions League conquerors again.
Arne Slot wanted speed. It was something he identified immediately when he stepped into Jürgen Klopp’s shadow. For all the glory of last season’s Premier League title, Liverpool were lacking that devastating burst of pace that once made them untouchable. Slot had watched how Paris Saint-Germain tore through Liverpool in the Champions League, with Ousmane Dembélé, Nuno Mendes, and Achraf Hakimi running riot. He saw how defences around Europe struggled against sides that could transition with electric speed. And he remembered how Klopp’s great Liverpool sides were built not just on pressing, but on sheer, frightening acceleration. Sadio Mané, Mohamed Salah in his prime, and Andy Robertson at full power – that was a storm of speed.
But time had changed the squad. Salah had lost some of his raw pace, though he reinvented himself as a creator. Mané was gone. Robertson’s relentless energy was no longer at its peak. Liverpool could still dominate possession, still press opponents into mistakes, but when it came to raw acceleration, they were no longer the fastest side in Europe. Slot knew that had to change.
Richard Hughes, Liverpool’s new sporting director, responded with a masterstroke. He didn’t just sign someone quick – he signed the quickest player on the continent. The data speaks volumes. According to analysis by CIES and Skills Corner, Jeremie Frimpong leads all of Europe in high accelerations per 90 minutes. To break that down, an acceleration in this context means hitting speeds greater than 3m/s for over 0.7 seconds. In other words, these are sharp, explosive bursts. Frimpong averaged 15.68 of these accelerations every 90 minutes across domestic league matches. No one else came close. Not Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon, not Denmark’s Zian Flemming, not even sprinters like Dan James. Frimpong is in a league of his own.
This is not just a trivial statistic. It matters because modern football is not simply about who runs the fastest in one straight sprint. What really decides games is the ability to repeat those bursts over and over. The capacity to accelerate past opponents when pressing, when counter-attacking, when recovering in defence. That is what separates a fast player from an elite speed machine. Frimpong is not just someone who can clock a high top speed once a game. He is someone who shatters the one-second barrier repeatedly, always threatening, always explosive.
That is exactly what Slot wanted. His football thrives on unpredictability, on transitions that happen in the blink of an eye, on attackers who can explode into space and defenders who can recover before danger turns into disaster. Frimpong is the perfect fit.
It is almost poetic that Liverpool have brought in such a player now. Their identity under Klopp was built on intensity. But intensity without pace is incomplete. Slot has seen how teams like PSG, Bayern, and even Real Madrid use speed as a weapon. He knew Liverpool had to return to that blueprint. And Frimpong is the signing that embodies it.
Of course, Liverpool fans have only seen flashes so far, with Frimpong recovering from a hamstring injury. But even those flashes have been enough to whet the appetite. Once he is fully fit, Anfield will see just how destructive he can be. Defenders will fear him not just for his top speed, but for the fact that he never stops accelerating.
This transfer is also about more than just numbers. It is about restoring fear. When Klopp’s Liverpool were at their best, opponents were terrified. They knew that if they lost the ball, in three seconds it could be in the back of their net. They knew that Salah or Mané could leave them behind in a heartbeat. That aura has dimmed in recent years. Frimpong can bring it back.
Think of the combinations. Salah cutting inside, Frimpong overlapping or bursting down the wing. Darwin Núñez chasing balls into space with Frimpong providing support. Trent Alexander-Arnold picking out runs with his passing vision. Suddenly, Liverpool look like a team that can kill in an instant again.
And all of this came at a price far less than the headline-grabbing £100m-plus moves of this summer. While other clubs splashed fortunes on single stars, Liverpool made a data-driven, tactical signing that fills the exact need identified by their new manager. It is an FSG masterclass. The kind of smart, strategic move that doesn’t just buy talent but transforms a team’s identity.
Speed is the one attribute you cannot fake, and in modern football, it is priceless. Liverpool now have the fastest player in Europe, and that could tilt the balance of power their way once more.
When people look back at the summer of 2025, they might talk about Real Madrid’s galácticos, Manchester City’s spending, or PSG’s next superstar. But at Anfield, the fans will remember something different. They will remember the summer Liverpool quietly added Jeremie Frimpong – the player who could make them the most feared team in Europe again.
