Ronald Koeman does not have a good word for Jeremie Frimpong’s cancellation for the European Championship with the Dutch Juniors. The national coach does not yet know whether the decision of the right wing defender of Bayer Leverkusen has consequences.
Frimpong canceled with the Dutch Juniors after he was again eliminated from the Orange for the final round of the Nations League in his own country. That while he could have played a final tournament for the first time with the Dutch reserves at the European Championships in Romania and Georgia (June 9-July 2).
“I don’t understand it and I don’t think it’s good,” Koeman said at a press conference in Zeist on Saturday. “It’s just not okay. The Dutch Juniors are playing a European Championship. If the player thinks he has risen above the level, you are making the wrong decision.”
Frimpong is one of Bayer Leverkusen’s revelations this season. He was named in the Bundesliga Team of the Year and also called up for the World Cup in Qatar by Koeman’s predecessor Louis van Gaal. However, he did not play there for a minute.
Koeman said earlier that he did not select Frimpong because he does not fit into a system with four defenders. Frimpong is the right wing defender in a five-man defense at Bayer Leverkusen. Denzel Dumfries is also Koeman’s first choice as right back for Orange.