Preston North End are reaping the rewards of shopping in Denmark and will surely look to focus attention on there again.
PNE have found some form of late, picking up 11 points from the last five Championship games.
Ryan Lowe was previously under immense pressure but has picked up some impressive results.
Beating Ipswich Town, Cardiff City and Middlesbrough was an impressive run and then noise around Lowe’s future has started to die down.
So what changed? What has made PNE go from struggling to having outside hopes of a play-off place once again?
Well, Lowe has started to feature North End’s two Danish stars as key parts of the attack – and what a delight it is to watch.
Danish market working wonders for PNE
Striker Emil Riis is back fit and firing again after more than a year out through injury.
Saturday’s scruffy equaliser against Blackburn Rovers means Riis has now scored in each of his last three games.
Riis looks bigger and stronger and is now making a major impact alongside Will Keane in the PNE attack.
Then we come to Mads Frøkjær-Jensen, who has been operating as North End’s free-spirited number 10.
Frøkjær-Jensen started the season well but then found himself struggling for starts, leading to PNE fans begging for Lowe to give the Dane more playing time.
Frøkjær-Jensen is now in the side and absolutely thriving, producing moments of magic on a consistent basis.
Two assists against Cardiff City were superb and Frøkjær-Jensen has been pulling out all the tricks and flicks, flaunting his technical ability.
We haven’t really seen many players like Frøkjær-Jensen in a PNE shirt; a true maverick number 10, capable of unlocking defences at will.
The connection with Riis is growing and whilst both Danes flourish, PNE fans are left wondering if more Danish signings could arrive.
PNE paid just shy of £1.2million to land Frøkjær-Jensen from Odense last summer and it was a similar fee to land Riis from Randers in 2020.
That £2.4million outlay is looking pretty good right now with PNE no doubt valuing both players much higher than the fees paid.
North End have been getting good value for money out of the Danish market and there may be a chance to emulate Brentford by regularly shopping there.
Even Daniel Iversen – a Dane who came in on loan from Leicester City – became a fan favourite and other Danish players would surely fancy the chance to move to North End.
PNE have plenty of business to do again this summer with wing backs and defenders at the top of the priority list.
If Riis and Frøkjær-Jensen continue to excel, don’t be surprised to see North End go back to the Danish market for more signings this summer.