He could be the one who got away – and maybe even one who returns in the future.

Jeremie Frimpong came through the Manchester City academy after arriving at the age of 10 and represented the club all the way up to under-23 level. He started the prestigious FA Youth Cup final in 2019, and his name is proudly displayed on the walls of the City Football Academy as an example of an academy graduate who has gone on to play international football.

However, right-winger Frimpong knew his time was up at City the moment he went to discuss a new contract in 2019. Five years on and he is a Bundesliga champion, a Dutch international, and a reported transfer target of both City and Manchester United – having held talks with the latter last year.

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Frimpong was at the heart of celebrations this weekend as his Leverkusen side broke Bayern Munich’s 11-year hold on the Bundesliga title with an incredible unbeaten campaign so far. He has featured in all but two of Bayer’s league fixtures so far, and has played a key role in their run to the Europa League quarter-finals.

In part thanks to his 12 goals and 11 assists, an unbeaten treble remains on the cards for Leverkusen, and Frimpong made headlines by appearing to mock Arsenal during Sunday’s jubilant dressing room celebrations.

Incoming Academy Director Thomas Krucken, who joined from Stuttgart this season, remarked in an exclusive interview with MEN Sport that he had no idea that Frimpong had come through City’s Select system when watching him make his name in Germany.

His former youth coach told MEN Sport recently that he is a right-back turned right-winger with a skillset that even Kyle Walker or Trent Alexander-Arnold do not possess. Paul Sneddon explained how a young Frimpong played as a striker for AFC Clayton when living in Openshaw – his parents are Dutch and Ghanaian.

After eight years at City, Frimpong moved to Celtic, and he is now one of over 60 academy graduates playing in Europe’s top five leagues or in the EFL. However, he only made the club an initial £350,000 when he was sold to Celtic in 2019 as an 18-year-old.

Speaking to SportBible earlier this year, Frimpong discussed the manner of his exit, which had been on the cards – but he made his mind up when going into the club to discuss a new contract.

“I kept playing [an age group] down and I think when I was under-23’s at City, I remember going in for a new contract and that’s when I knew my path at City was different,” he recalled.

“They were talking about how I couldn’t get into the team and were comparing me to other players in the academy that were doing better than me. I thought, ‘Yeah, I clearly don’t have a future here,’ so I’ve got to take a different step.

“I remember going to that meeting and he was saying, ‘You’re too small,’ and it’ll be too physical. That’s when I was thinking, ‘Oh s***, where am I gonna go?’.”

A move to Celtic transpired, who became interested after an under-23 fixture between the sides, with the relatively small transfer fee going into the City bank account. A further £650,000 in add-ons was agreed depending on performances, so Celtic’s domestic treble win in 2019/20 may have taken that fee closer to £1m. Frimpong played 51 times for Celtic before his form attracted the interest of Leverkusen.

With Frimpong making clear that he wanted to switch Parkhead for the BayArena, Leverkusen paid a reported fee of around £10m, rising to around £11.5m. That was good news for City, who inserted a 30 per cent sell-on clause in the deal, increasing their initial incoming tenfold. If Frimpong reaches the maximum add-ons for both transfers, City could have earned up to £4.3m from a youngster who never made a first-team appearance.

Frimpong has started a foundation to help young players deal with harsh releases from academy football as a result of his experience at City, but it appears he has no hard feelings, and would even be open to a return if the Blues were interested.

“I have no regrets at all. We all know not everyone can play for City’s first team as an academy player,” he told SportBible. “It’s still not nice hearing these things as a kid but I just had to take a different path.”

The 23-year-old hasn’t looked back and is now the subject of reported interest from some of Europe’s biggest clubs. His stock will rise further after his role in becoming a Bundesliga champion.

A €40m (£34m) release clause has been mooted, and City have been mentioned as a possible interested party. Discussing that possibility last summer, he told Marca: “It would be great, but I don’t know. They have just won the Champions League and are the best team in the world. In the future, we will see.”