There's an undeniable thrill to creeping toward the latter stage of a transfer window with deals yet to be completed, but this excitement is tethered to a sense of trepidation, particularly when it comes to Tottenham Hotspur
In the summer, they enjoyed both ends of the spectrum, concluding deals for influential players James Maddison and Micky van de Ven with ample time to spare but tieing up a deal for Brennan Johnson – £47m from Nottingham Forest – on deadline day.
Chelsea's Conor Gallagher was also pursued and an offer of £40m was placed, to no avail. Further, versatile Bournemouth defender Lloyd Kelly was targetted but an agreement was not reached in time.
How the transfer window is shaping up for Spurs
Ange Postecoglou and new technical director Johan Lange appear to have approached the January transfer market with diligence and prudence.
They have already concluded a deal for forward Timo Werner, with Eric Dier moving to Bayern Munich after Spurs beat the Bundesliga champions to Radu Dragusin for around £25m.
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Such dealings leave Tottenham in a good position and now attention can be turned to the midfield, with an astute deal being considered.
Who Spurs could sign after Werner & Dragusin
According to Dean Jones in a GIVEMESPORT column, Tottenham are monitoring the situation of Genoa midfielder Morten Frendrup and could look to take advantage of the player's affordable price tag, with scouts believed to have been dazzled by his displays in Serie A.
Postecoglou's side are indeed closing in on the signing of Genoa centre-back Dragusin and could use the good relationship forged over recent weeks to make an instantaneous return for their prized midfielder.
Frendrup would command a fee of €10m (£9m) but with lucrative expenditure already parted with to make a fast start to the winter transfer window, this could be the perfect addition to complete the movements.
Morten Frendrup's style of play
Deceptively powerful and an excellent all-rounder, Frendrup’s standout attribute is probably his energy.
Technical prowess is neat; guiding a ball into its precise location with a whipped delivery that elicits pursed lips and a hum of approval across the stadium is commendable.
Likewise, crunching challenges and sturdiness in one’s craft on the football pitch attracts many suitors, for the protection of the backline is imperative for success.
But stamina, spirit and application – this is the lifeforce that binds it all together, and luckily for Frendrup, he possesses each quality in its abundance.
Hailed as a “destroyer” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, the Danish ace might be pigeonholed as a defensive midfielder at a glance but actually offers a complete skill set and an industriousness that has attracted attention from sides such as Spurs and Premier League rivals Liverpool.
Having completed 71 matches for Genoa, the 22-year-old is comparatively established as one of Italian's most underrated centre-midfielders, having played a big part in the club's promotion from Serie B last season, since producing some frankly remarkable showings this term.
Indeed, as per Sofascore, Frendrup has started 19 times in the league this season and has racked up four assists from the centre of the park, completing 80% of his passes, averaging 3.9 tackles and 6.6 ball recoveries per game and succeeded with 65% of his contested duels.
A ball-winning midfielder with a welcome sprinkle of creativity, Frendrup would be a shrewd purchase for Tottenham, and while he is of a different profile, he could be Tottenham's next Christian Eriksen.
How Morten Frendrup compares to Christian Eriksen
Of course, Frendrup and Eriksen are not cut from the same cloth, but they are compatriots and Frendrup could prove to be another Danish midfielder worth signing at the fledgling phase of their career.
The Lilywhites completed the £11.5m transfer of Eriksen from Dutch giants Ajax back in 2013 when he was only 21 years old, and the touted talent bloomed into an elite playmaker over his many years at Tottenham, posting a total of 69 goals and 90 assists for the club, mostly under the management of Mauricio Pochettino.
Like Eriksen, Frendrup could be welcomed as a talented player with room for improvement and shaped into something special, with his innate creativity only strengthening the similarities.
As per FBref, Frendrup ranks among the top 1% of midfielders across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for tackles, the top 13% for blocks and the top 9% for assists per 90.
Clearly not just a one-trick pony, Frendrup is tough-tackling and technical and must be signed to conclude Tottenham's winter business, with the aforementioned Gallagher still of interest but requiring a £50m outlay to convince Chelsea to sell.
1 Manuel Locatelli Juventus 2 Rodrigo Bentancur Tottenham Hotspur 3 Guido Rodriguez Real Betis 4 Lucas Paqueta West Ham United 5 Boubacar Kamara Aston Villa
It’s worth glancing at the table above and looking at the kind of profile that Gallagher is attributed to, with Tottenham midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur considered one of the most comparable players.
Would it be wise to spend such a lofty sum of money on a midfielder of such striking similarity to a key member of Postecoglou’s starting line-up? Would it even be possible after the activity already this month?
Chelsea and Tottenham’s lasting enmity also runs the risk of discussions turning protracted, and, harking back to that earlier point of late deals, could indeed result in a total collapse of negotiations.
Frendrup offers the perfect solution: he is cheap, young, and all-approaching in his midfield game, ready to take the next step in his development without disrupting the harmony within Spurs’ ranks.
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Given Tottenham’s track record with Danish midfielders, why not take a punt on a touted target with plenty of room for growth?