Jeremie Frimpong rejected our new offer- Celtic coach Neil Lennon

Celtic head coach Neil Lennon has revealed that the club made efforts to keep Jeremie Frimpong but the player opted to leave.

Frimpong joined the Scottish side from Manchester City in 2019 where he quickly became a key player for the side.

After just one and a half seasons at the club, he made the move to German outfit Bayer Leverkusen for £11.5 million.

When asked about the transfer, Lennon stated that he didn't want the player to go.

“Yes, I feel a bit let down because we felt we could progress him further and we offered him a new deal which would have kept him here for another two or three years but it was down to the player’s personal ambition," he told the Scottish media.

“Whether that’s the right way for him remains to be seen. For us, though, from a business point of view – and maybe from a footballing point of view as well – when a player’s mind is set like that it’s very difficult to bring him back round."

“It didn’t come as a surprise at all. This has been in the offing for the past couple of months."

“We offered the player talks for a new deal a few months back but he declined and made it clear that he wanted to leave, despite our best efforts to keep him.”