Club are now expecting their £35m player to leave after claims Chelsea want him

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Bayer Leverkusen defender Jeremie Frimpong could leave the BayArena in the summer amid interest from Chelsea.

According to Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg, Leverkusen expect Jeremie Frimpong to depart at the end of the season.

The journalist shared the information on X and also claimed that the player is “keen” on a transfer and has a €40m (£34.7m) release clause for the summer.

Chelsea are one club who have been linked with a move for Frimpong.

Earlier this month, depor claimed that both the Blues and their Premier League rivals Liverpool were in the race for the right-back’s signature.

Would Jeremie Frimpong start at Chelsea?

When Reece James is fit and available, then no. The England international is one of the best right-backs in the Premier League.

His last outing against Newcastle United was obviously not his best after he was sent off, something his manager Mauricio Pochettino was not happy about.

But generally, James does not let Chelsea down and is an automatic starter when he is not carrying an injury.

However, that is the thing. The 23-year-old has struggled to stay fit in recent seasons, so perhaps there could be an opportunity for Frimpong to come in and actually get game time in the right-back position.

Given that Chelsea do have James, though, while Malo Gusto and Marc Cucurella are also capable of covering the Blues right-back, Frimpong probably does not have to be a priority for the club next summer.

Rather, what they need to be focusing on is a striker if they cannot land one in January.

It is one of the weaker areas in their squad and there is now talk about Napoli’s Victor Osimhen coming in to help them out there. That has to take precedence over signing a new right-back.