Preston North End make transfer approach for 11-goal/assist Danish player | OneFootball

Preston North End are yet to really get moving in the transfer market this summer, with just Calvin Ramsay signed on loan from Liverpool so far.

But if there's one thing that they are perhaps lacking aside from striker options is creativity in the middle of the park.

Arguably their most creative asset for the last few years has been Daniel Johnson, who in an engine room full of work rate and effort had that little bit of class to unlock a defence through the middle of the pitch and was also a goalscoring threat as well.

The Jamaica international however has decided to move on after eight-and-a-half years, leaving North End manager Ryan Lowe needing to look elsewhere for a Johnson replacement.

Could he have found it though overseas?

The FA relaxed work permit regulatations for transfers in England, allowing Championship clubs to sign up to four players who would not normally meet the requirement for the amount of GBE points needed to secure a deal to move to the country.

And it now appears that PNE have cast their net further afield in the hunt for new signings as according to Danish publication Esktra Bladet, the Lilywhites have made an approach to Odense Boldklub for 23-year-old attacking midfielder Mads Frøkjær-Jensen.

This however has been turned down by the Danish Superliga club, who didn't even enter negotiations with North End in regards to a fee and it remains to be seen as to whether they return with another offer.

Who is Mads Frøkjær-Jensen?

Frøkjær-Jensen has spent his entire professional career with Odense, having joined their youth system in 2014 as a teenager.

The midfielder made his senior debut in September 2018 at the age of 19 but he did not start to become more involved in the first-team until the 2019-20 season as he played 25 league matches that campaign.

2021-22 was somewhat of a breakout campaign for Frøkjær-Jensen as he scored eight times and assisted five goals in 36 appearances, and he had a similar record in the season just gone with 11 goal contributions from 29 matches, with eight goals scored and three assists notched.

Frøkjær-Jensen was also capped once by the Denmark under-21's team, where he lined up for the second half of their January 2020 clash with Slovakia with none other than North End striker Emil Riis.

Would Mads Frøkjær-Jensen be a good signing for Preston North End?

Frøkjær-Jensen would of course be a bit of a left-field, risky addition to North End's ranks should they continue to pursue him, but it's something different and fans will appreciate that.

PNE have done pretty good out of the deal that saw them raid Denmark in 2020 to sign Emil Riis from Randers, although he did have experience of being in England in the past having been at Derby County's academy.

He translated his performances from Danish football to the English game eventually though and scored 20 times in the 2021-22 season, so that would stand Frøkjær-Jensen in good stead considering he's also been playing the same level of football that Riis was before his Deepdale move.

Frøkjær-Jensen appears to be pretty creative, can play as an attacking midfielder and has also featured regularly recently off the left wing, so it would give Lowe tactical flexibility should the club push on with a move.

He has one year remaining on his contract at Odense as well, so it should not really take an extravagant fee to prize him away from Denmark.