Mads Frokjaer has just given Preston North End another reason to secure summer signing

Mads Frokjaer has been at the heart of Preston North End's play in recent weeks, but it's always just been a matter of time in the Dane's mind. There is no arrogance about the 24-year-old; if any part of his demeanour did fall into that category, you would class it as positive. Frokjaer's place in the PNE team is now his to lose. He has injected creativity, quality and personality into Preston's side and the attacking talent around him is certainly helping.

"Yeah, especially me and Millar," Frokjaer told the Lancashire Post. "We talk a lot about it. Sometimes, I think I need the ball a bit more and sometimes he thinks I need to play it a bit more. But, the relationship is good. We talk, every day, about how to improve the friendship on the pitch. You can see we try to find each other in the pockets and play one-twos; overloads on the sides.

"I think we are both happy that we more or less get the freedom to do it more and more. And yeah, Keano is a good link player and it is nice to have Emil to go in behind - so you have the option between both. I think you can see, especially in the pressures, it's a good thing for us to have two up front and me sneaking in behind."

It was only a few days earlier that Ben Whiteman had sat with the media and discussed the need for players to truly 'understand the game' nowadays. In Whiteman, PNE have an intelligent footballer and Frokjaer - someone who is equally as intrigued by the finer details - absolutely falls into the same category.

"Yeah, I like to talk about football a lot," said Frokjaer. "It is not because I watch it that much or anything, at all. But, I love to talk about it at the training ground. I love to come to training and speak to the coaches about what to improve and have an open discussion about everything. But I don't think we have to overcomplicate things.

"In the second half we tend to... it is my feeling that sometimes we overcomplicate it a bit, instead of just keeping the momentum up. When it goes good, you don't have to try something new; just keep going with the things that work. When you are under pressure, yeah, maybe try something new. But until that point, just keep going."

The only thing on the mind of North End's number 10 is keeping his place in the team and finishing the season as strongly as possible. Having had to bide his time at Deepdale, the midfielder does think he can have a significant impact on the 2024/25 campaign, given all the learning. For now, though, it's focus on the final few months of this one.

"To be fair, I've always had that belief and confidence," said Frokjaer. "When I came in - even though it was a big move to the Championship and a great team - I had the belief that I would play even more games than I have. I hope I can show that in the last 16 games; I have the confidence that next season is going to be great as well, hopefully for me and the team."

Frokjaer brings flair to PNE's performances but he doesn't lack personality off it, either. He will always speak his mind in the press, even if the tone is constantly chilled. He finished media duty last Saturday on a comical note, when asked about the support and backing he has received from the Preston faithful.

"Yeah, even though I haven't played loads in the last four or five months, I feel the love," said Frokjaer. "My brother keeps sending me pictures from Twitter - some funny pictures of me behind jail bars. So you know, I feel the love and Deepdale is a great ground. I love the fans and the supporters and me have a good relationship. It's good."