One player who was linked with Liverpool during the summer has admitted to being flattered by the Reds’ interest but insisted that it was never anything ‘concrete’.
In late July, TuttoMercatoWeb claimed that the Reds were among multiple Premier League clubs to lodge ‘requests for information’ with Genoa regarding Morten Frendrup, but the Serie A outfit were adamant that they wouldn’t sell the midfielder.
The Denmark international has now spoken about the links to the Merseyside giants in an interview with Tipsbladet, saying: “It is clear that it is a huge club, but there was a long way from concrete interest. For me, it’s about doing as well as possible, so my agent has to take care of everything else.”
The 23-year-old added: “I am super happy to be in Genoa. I feel like it’s a really good place to be where I can develop and get a lot of playing time. It was not in my consideration to change this summer. The interest is always great, but it’s about doing as well as possible, and then we’ll have to see what it brings.”
Liverpool didn’t sign a new midfielder in the summer, although it was clear from the approach to Genoa about Frendrup – along with the infamous Martin Zubimendi saga – that it’s a position which was being targeted by Richard Hughes.
The Dane typically plays more as a number 8 than a 6, although he’s been deployed at the base of midfield many times in his career (Transfermarkt), and his statistics over the past year suggest that he could do a more than competent job as a CDM.
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As per FBref, he ranks among the top 2% of positional peers in Europe’s top five leagues for tackles won per 90 (3.67), while he’s also in the top 18% of that subset for interceptions (1.41) and blocks (1.58) per match.
Frendrup might’ve had no intention of leaving Genoa this year, but that isn’t to say that he wouldn’t be open to a move further down the line.
He could be a name worth keeping an eye on for Liverpool’s recruitment team over the coming season, and if it becomes apparent that he possesses qualities which could make a difference at Anfield, it may be advisable to revive the prior interest in him at a later stage.
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