It's a brand new world at Aston Villa. Last season, finishing fourth in the Premier League saw Unai Emery's exciting project rise to a new high, securing a place in the revamped 2024/25 Champions League proper.
The summer transfer window, while full of promise, has not come without its share of trials and tribulations, with Monchi having to navigate around PSR limitations while bolstering a talented team hoping to cement a permanent place at the upper end of the top-flight table.
Douglas Luiz's sale to Juventus was the biggest sacrifice, for the Brazilian was the linchpin of the success, hailed as "one of the Premier League's standout midfielders" by The Athletic's Jacob Tanswell.
He has effectively been replaced by Amadou Onana, formerly of Everton, and mitigated further by the signing of Enzo Barrenechea, 23, as a part of the Luiz deal. With Boubacar Kamara not expected back until the end of the year as he recuperates from a long-term injury, it's clear that another face in the engine room is coveted.
Aston Villa's search for a midfielder
As per a report from Italian outlet TuttoMercatoWeb over the weekend – Aston Villa are interested in signing Genoa's Morten Frendrup this summer, with the Danish midfielder available for €25m (£21m).
Frendrup, aged 23, is one of Europe's toughest-tackling players and would bring some newfound mettle to Emery's system – especially valuable following Luiz's departure.
Liverpool also have a vested interest in the player and so the Villans better make their move quickly.
What Morten Frendrup would bring to Aston Villa
Frendrup loves to tackle. As per FBref, he ranks among the top 1% of centre-midfielders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for tackles made per 90 (3.81), making a convincing comment on the skills he'd bring to Villa Park's centre.
1.
Joao Palhinha
Fulham
152
5.07
2.
Morten Frendrup
Genoa
133
3.81
3.
Joao Gomes
Wolves
128
4.35
4.
Vinicius Souza
Sheffield United
125
4.22
5.
Oscar Valentin
Rayo Vallecano
107
3.58
Just to put that in perspective, only Bayern Munich's newly-signed titan Joao Palhinha won more tackles across Europe's top five leagues last season, with the Portuguese's efforts at Fulham in the Premier League leading data and video analyst Marcus Bring to dub him a "defensive monster".
There are other areas of his game that need work, polishing, but Frendrup is unquestionably one of the most talented defence-focused midfielders in the business, and he could be a real asset to a dynamic Villa engine room.
Emery must look past ostensible deficiencies and recognise the value in signing the talent. Frendrup ranks among the bottom 33% of midfielders for pass completion and the bottom 8% for progressive passes per 90, but then he plays in a conservative Genoa system that calls for his steel in the centre, not his ball-playing faculty.
Should his signing be realised, it would likely come at the expense of Kalvin Phillips' possible transfer to Aston Villa, with recent reports suggesting the Manchester City outcast has been the subject of an offer from Monchi as he looks to force a move away from the Etihad Stadium.
The 28-year-old has had a torrid time since leaving Leeds United, where he was adulated as the fulcrum of the Whites' resounding rise to the Premier League, and signing for Pep Guardiola's side for an initial £42m in 2022.
He made just three Premier League starts for City across two campaigns and fell further by the wayside at the London Stadium, not so much rusty as decayed by neglect and mental fatigue in Greater Manchester – the Englishman notably seeing red against Nottingham Forest at the tail-end of last term.
In contrast to Frendrup – who also ranks in the top 13% for interceptions and the top 17% for blocks – Phillips ranks in just the top 13% for tackles per 90, as well as in the bottom 56% for interceptions and the top 2% for blocks, thus indicating the Dane's superior defensive prowess.
His efforts at West Ham did nothing to put him back into the ascendancy, and it must surely be Frendrup – already hailed as a “midfield machine” by talent scout Jacek Kulig – who is welcomed to Villa Park this summer, as long as it is financially feasible, of course.
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1 ByRoss Kilvington
