In a few days, Liverpool will step into August, the month of the "crescendo" in the transfer market, according to new sporting director Richard Hughes.
Liverpool are the only team in the Premier League yet to complete a major signing this summer as Arne Slot implements his brand of football at Anfield. Jurgen Klopp's swansong season restored stability and Champions League football, bagged the Carabao Cup, but now the Merseysiders must fight to rise further.
Can that be achieved without one or two impactful adjustments? The pragmatic undertones emanating from the club point toward a low-key conclusion to the summer's business, but that's certainly not to say that an exciting upgrade won't be brought in at one area or another.
Wataru Endo served as the specialist No. 6 last season, signed from Stuttgart for £16m after FSG fumbled other targets, but Marseille have bid for the Japanese, 31, already this summer and his conservative ball-playing style doesn't quite align with Slot's fluid, fast-moving system.
As such, Liverpool would be wise to strengthen further in defensive midfield, with an exciting up-and-comer already lined up.
Liverpool's search for a midfielder
According to a report from Italian outlet TuttoMercatoWeb at the weekend, Liverpool have registered an interest in Genoa midfielder Morten Frendrup, having been arrested by his tough-tackling quality.
Genoa would entertain offers of €25m (roughly £21m) for the Denmark U21 international, and with Aston Villa also known suitors, Slot and Co will need to act quickly to secure the talent's services.
What Morten Frendrup would bring to Liverpool
Genoa signed rising starlet Frendrup in a shrewd €3.5m (£3m) deal back in 2022, with the deep-lying midfielder since rising to a strong position in Italian football, having amassed 89 appearances, notching ten goal contributions.
One of Europe's finest tacklers, Frendrup's 133 tackles in Serie A last season played an instrumental part in Genoa's comfortable campaign. Atalanta's Ederson, another Liverpool transfer target, recorded 83 tackles in second place, some 50 behind the 23-year-old.
Indeed, as per FBref, Frendrup ranks among the top 1% of central midfielders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for tackles, the top 13% for interceptions and the top 17% for blocks per 90, emphasising his imperious quality in protecting his backline.
His impressive six-assist haul last season also hints toward a ball-playing quality that hasn't quite been able to be showcased at Genoa, such is the direct, counter-attacking style of football under Alberto Gilardino.
But at Liverpool, that all could change, allowing the exciting prospect to realise his lofty potential at the heartland of Slot's system. Endo could play an important role over the coming campaign, but he's probably not the solution in the biggest moments when ball-playing fluidity needs to be at its apex.
Frendrup must be signed and moulded into a world-beater.
Why Frendrup would be an upgrade on Wataru Endo
Frendrup might not have been able to showcase his passing quality to the extent that Liverpool scouts might have liked, but there's little question that he boasts the technical and athletic acumen to rise to the fore under Slot's wing, learning Liverpool's ways.
Genoa's tactical approach precludes ball-playing fluency of that calibre anyway. Last season, as per Opta, Genoa ranked 11th in Serie A for passes per sequence, at a rate of 3.09.
This direct style of play presented Frendrup with a tough task in utilising his passing range to his maximum, instead, the Dane was tasked with enforcing his steely authority in the middle of the park.
Moreover, the outfit's lack of average zonal control aligned with Genoa's 16th-place ranking for possession in the Italian top flight last term. This is all a roundabout way of suggesting that Frendrup would grow into the ball-focused role at Liverpool, for it is prioritised by Slot and his tactical team.
Endo, for example, completed 80% of his passes in the 2022/23 Bundesliga campaign, whereas the Japan international averaged an 88% pass success rate last season with the Reds.
One thing that Endo didn't bring to the Premier League was defensive strength, not in the way that a top team like Liverpool requires. As you can see below when comparing his metrics to Frendrup's, the industrious Liverpool man simply doesn't have the kind of mettle to protect the backline that is required.
Matches played
37
29
Matches started
36
20
Goals
2
1
Assists
5
0
Pass completion
81%
88%
Touches per game
46.8
54.4
Tackles per game
3.6
1.7
Interceptions per game
1.4
0.7
Key passes per game
0.4
0.6
Recoveries per game
5.3
3.7
Dribbles per game
0.4 (67%)
0.3 (67%)
Ground duels won per game
5.8 (61%)
2.9 (41%)
As you can see, Frendrup is a far superior defensive player, with his mobility, energy and enthusiasm in recycling possession and quashing attacking efforts leading talent scout Jacek Kulig to describe him as a “midfield machine”.
He's just far more robust, ready to provide Liverpool with the kind of zest and zeal needed in the engine room to supercharge Slot's budding system.
While signing Frendrup, who is admittedly untested as a natural free-flowing passer, comes with an element of risk, he has ample talent to see him skyrocket to the upper echelon of holding midfielders in Europe.
Perhaps it would be wise to keep Endo on the books, but his skillset is limited and Frendrup could be the perfect successor.
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