There was a special chorus of praise waiting for Jeremie Frimpong after being substituted against Partick Thistle- from Celtic’s management team!
At 7.30pm on Wednesday he was just another young hopeful waiting to get his chance to impress at Celtic after opting to move north from Manchester City at the end of the summer transfer window.
By the time he was replaced by Jack Hendry with 10 minutes left to play in the 5-0 victory Frimpong was the name on the lips of the Celtic support as Neil Lennon uncovered another impressive option at right-back.
The substitution allowed the Celtic fans to show their appreciation for the young Dutchman but it wasn’t just the supporters that were showing their praise.
The Sun reports:
When he took his seat in the dugout after being subbed, the tannoy announced his award and boss Neil Lennon and coach John Kennedy burst into a chant. Frimpong, 18, signed on a four-year deal from Manchester City, said: “When it got announced I thought: ‘What’s going on?’. I looked up at the screen and it said: ‘Jeremie, man of the match’. In the dugout they were all shouting to me: ‘Jeremie, Jeremie, Jeremie’. I was like: ‘Oh my gosh’. I couldn’t stop smiling.
An injury to Moritz Bauer opened the door for Frimpong with Hatem Abd Elhamed moving into central defence to partner Kris Ajer.
Christopher Ajer should be available for tomorrow’s match away to Hibs which should give Neil Lennon some options at the back as the hoops look to stretch their lead at the top of the SPFL table to six points.