Jeremie Frimpong reveals why he decided to leave Celtic

It came as a shock to most Celtic fans when Jeremie Frimpong joined Bayer Leverkusen in January for a transfer fee reported to be around £10 million. There had not much indication that he was looking to leave the club leading up to the move.

The Dutch youngster was signed from Manchester City just a couple of summers ago for a transfer fee believed to be around just £300,000. Safe to say that is an incredible profit in such a short span of time and it is not hard to see why the club decided to let him leave in the middle of the season.

Even then, one has to wonder whether they took the decision a bit too early. After all, Frimpong is still just 20 and has a very high ceiling. Thus, it would not be a surprise if he leaves Bayer Leverkusen in the future for a much higher transfer fee.

The right-back always looked like someone who was loving life at Celtic. And he has come out to explain why he decided to leave the club last month, so early into his stint at Parkhead. As reported by The Athletic, Frimpong said:

"“For me, I’ve always wanted to play in the top leagues, and I consider the Bundesliga to be top three in the world. I wanted to take this challenge to see if I can handle it.“For me, I play to win trophies, as I’ve said. I want to play for winning teams, and I want to win a lot more. I’m 20, I’ve got a lot of years to play and prove myself. I’ve still got a lot of work to do.”"

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Celtic is a much less attractive option for youngsters these days

To be very honest, it does sound like Celtic’s poor form this season had a lot to do with why he decided that it was the right time to leave. He had made quite the impression last season but it would be very difficult to repeat that for a team that has been struggling.

Clearly, he had ambitions to leave the club in the future but probably not this early. When the opportunity unexpectedly came for him to join one of the biggest clubs in the Bundesliga, it was probably too good to refuse.

And in a way, it is hard to blame players like Frimpong for moving on. Not too long ago, Celtic provided them with the opportunity to make a mark on the European stage. But after failing to make it into the Champions League for the past two seasons, it is safe to say that they are a much less attractive option for youngsters at the moment.