Mathias Jensen
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Mathias Jensen[1] | ||
Date of birth | 1 January 1996 | ||
Place of birth | Jerslev, Zealand, Denmark[2] | ||
Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[3] | ||
Position(s) | Central midfielder | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Brentford | ||
Number | 8 | ||
Youth career | |||
2001–2007 | Hvidebæk IF | ||
2007–2011 | Kalundborg GB | ||
2011–2015 | Nordsjælland | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2015–2018 | Nordsjælland | 63 | (15) |
2018–2019 | Celta Vigo | 6 | (0) |
2019– | Brentford | 192 | (11) |
International career‡ | |||
2014 | Denmark U18 | 1 | (0) |
2014–2015 | Denmark U19 | 8 | (0) |
2015–2017 | Denmark U20 | 6 | (1) |
2017–2019 | Denmark U21 | 15 | (2) |
2020– | Denmark | 30 | (1) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:30, 30 November 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11:26, 30 June 2024 (UTC) |
Mathias Jensen (born 1 January 1996) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Premier League club Brentford and the Denmark national team.
Jensen is a product of the Nordsjælland academy and began his senior career with the club in 2016. Following two seasons as a regular member of the team, he transferred to Celta Vigo in 2018. After an injury-hit 2018–19 season, he transferred to Brentford and was a part of the squad which was promoted to the Premier League in 2021. A former Denmark youth international, Jensen made his full international debut in 2020. He was a member of the Denmark squads at Euro 2020, the 2022 World Cup and Euro 2024.
Club career
[edit]Nordsjælland
[edit]A midfielder, Jensen progressed through the academy at Nordsjælland and signed a three-year professional contract in January 2015.[4][5] He was promoted into the first team squad for the 2015–16 season and made five appearances during the campaign, scoring one goal, which came in a 2–2 draw with Randers on 1 May 2016.[1] Jensen was a regular in the 2016–17 season, making 22 appearances,[6] before 2017–18 proved to be his breakthrough season.[1] He made 36 appearances, scored 12 goals, was awarded the captaincy and his achievements were recognised by the DBU and his club,[7] with the DBU 2017 Talent of the Year and FC Nordsjælland Player of the Year awards respectively.[8][9] After three early 2018–19-season appearances, Jensen departed Nordsjælland in August 2018.[10] During just over three seasons as a professional at Farum Park, Jensen made 66 appearances and scored 15 goals.[1]
Celta Vigo
[edit]On 8 August 2018, Jensen moved to Spain joining La Liga club Celta Vigo on a five-year contract.[10] During an injury-affected 2018–19 season, he made just six appearances and left the club in July 2019.[11][12]
Brentford
[edit]2019–2021
[edit]On 10 July 2019, Jensen moved to England signing with Championship club Brentford on a four-year contract, with the option of an additional year, for an undisclosed fee,[12] reported to be £3.5 million.[13] He made 43 appearances and scored one goal during the 2019–20 season,[14] which ended with defeat in the 2020 Championship play-off final.[15] Jensen made a career high 53 appearances during the 2020–21 season and celebrated promotion to the Premier League with victory in the 2021 Championship play-off final.[16][17]
2021–22
[edit]As a result of suffering a "badly gashed" foot while away on international duty, Jensen missed Brentford's entire 2021–22 pre-season and the first three matches of the regular season.[18][19] Restricted to a mix of starting and substitute roles,[20][21] particularly after the January 2022 signing of Christian Eriksen,[22] Jensen made 35 appearances during a "stop-start" season.[19][23] Despite being affected by COVID-19 and another minor injury, Jensen won praise from head coach Thomas Frank for training "like an animal" while sidelined.[22]
2022–23
[edit]Entering the final year of his contract, Jensen hired his own personal trainer to work with him daily during the off-season in Denmark and he returned for the 2022–23 pre-season "in incredible shape".[22][24] He was challenged by head coach Thomas Frank to be the replacement for the departed Christian Eriksen.[22] Jensen began the regular season in a starting role and as a regular set piece taker.[1][24] Coaching from specialist throw-in coach Thomas Gronnemark helped length his throws.[24] Jensen's performance and first Premier League goal in a 4–0 win over Manchester United on 13 August 2022 was recognised with the man of the match award.[25][26]
On 18 January 2022, Jensen signed a new 3+1⁄2-year contract, with the option of a further year.[23] Head coach Thomas Frank commended Jensen's "pressing abilities", "his defensive mindset" and stated that "he has been one of our best players so far this season".[23] In the process of winning his 23rd cap for Denmark in a Euro 2024 qualifier versus Finland on 23 March 2023, Jensen became Brentford's most-capped international player.[27] Until missing the final match of the season,[28] Jensen had been an ever-present starter in league matches and had improved his goal tally to five.[1]
2023–24
[edit]Awarded the vice-captaincy and a starter when fit,[1][29][30][31] Jensen made 36 appearances and scored four goals during a lower mid-table 2023–24 season.[32][33]
International career
[edit]Jensen made 30 appearances and scored 3 goals for Denmark between U18 and U21 level.[34] He was a part of Denmark's squads at the 2017 and 2019 European U21 Championships and captained the team in the latter tournament.[12][34] Jensen was named in the senior team's preliminary 35-man squad for the 2018 World Cup,[35] but he was not included in the final squad.[12] In October 2020, Jensen won a late call-up to the full Denmark squad for a series of three matches, as a replacement for injured Brentford teammate Christian Nørgaard.[36] He made his full international debut with a start in a 4–0 friendly win over the Faroe Islands on 7 October and scored his first full international goal on his fifth cap, in a 8–0 2022 World Cup qualifying win over Moldova on 28 March 2021.[34]
Jensen was named in the Denmark squad for Euro 2020 and he appeared as a substitute in each of the six matches during the Danes' run to the semi-final.[37][38] Jensen was named in Denmark's 2022 World Cup squad and made two appearances prior to the team's group stage exit.[34][39] Jensen was named in Denmark's Euro 2024 squad,[40] but was an unused substitute in each match prior to the team's round-of-16 exit.[1][41]
Style of play
[edit]Jensen has been described as a "player who can dictate the game", "has a great passing ability" and "a great football brain".[12] Midway through the 2022–23 season, he remarked that while he has "always been a technical player who doesn't really enjoy the big tackles", he had developed his "aggression" and "adapted to the tempo of the Premier League".[23]
Personal life
[edit]Jensen is a Manchester United and Barcelona supporter.[42]
Career statistics
[edit]Club
[edit]- As of match played 30 November 2024
Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Nordsjælland | 2015–16[1] | Danish Superliga | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ― | ― | ― | 5 | 1 | |||
2016–17[6] | Danish Superliga | 22 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ― | ― | ― | 23 | 2 | ||||
2017–18[1] | Danish Superliga | 35 | 12 | 1 | 0 | ― | ― | ― | 36 | 12 | ||||
2018–19[1] | Danish Superliga | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ― | 1[c] | 0 | ― | 2 | 0 | |||
Total | 63 | 15 | 3 | 0 | ― | 1 | 0 | ― | 67 | 15 | ||||
Celta Vigo | 2018–19[11] | La Liga | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ― | ― | ― | 6 | 0 | |||
Brentford | 2019–20[14] | Championship | 39 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ― | 3[d] | 0 | 43 | 1 | |
2020–21[16] | Championship | 45 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ― | 3[d] | 0 | 53 | 2 | ||
2021–22[19] | Premier League | 31 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ― | ― | 35 | 0 | |||
2022–23[25] | Premier League | 37 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ― | ― | 39 | 5 | |||
2023–24[32] | Premier League | 32 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | ― | ― | 36 | 4 | |||
2024–25[43] | Premier League | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ― | ― | 10 | 0 | |||
Total | 192 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 13 | 1 | ― | 6 | 0 | 216 | 12 | |||
Career total | 261 | 26 | 8 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 289 | 27 |
- ^ Includes Danish Cup, Copa del Rey, FA Cup
- ^ Includes EFL Cup
- ^ Appearance in UEFA Europa League
- ^ a b Appearances in Championship play-offs
International
[edit]- As of match played 29 June 2024[34]
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Denmark | 2020 | 4 | 0 |
2021 | 11 | 1 | |
2022 | 7 | 0 | |
2023 | 6 | 0 | |
2024 | 2 | 0 | |
Total | 30 | 1 |
- Scores and results list Denmark's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Jensen goal.
No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 28 March 2021 | MCH Arena, Herning, Denmark | Moldova | 5–0 | 8–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | [34] |
Honours
[edit]Brentford
Individual
- Danish Talent of the Year: 2017[8]
- FC Nordsjælland Player of the Year: 2017–18[9]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Mathias Jensen at Soccerway. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
- ^ "Get to Know: Mathias Jensen". Brentford FC. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
- ^ "Mathias Jensen". Brentford FC. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
- ^ "FC Nordsjælland forlænger med U19-anfører" (in Danish). bold.dk. 15 January 2015.
- ^ "U/19 og U/17 klar til et spændende forår". FC Nordsjælland (in Danish). 2 March 2015. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
- ^ a b "Games played by Mathias Jensen in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
- ^ "Mathias Jensen stolt af anførerrolle i FCN". bold.dk (in Danish). 31 August 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
- ^ a b "Mathias Jensen snuppede årets talent". bold.dk (in Danish). 2 March 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
- ^ a b "Mathias Jensen er årets spiller i FCN" (in Danish). bold.dk. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
- ^ a b "El Celta refuerza su centro del campo con el danés Mathias Jensen" (in Spanish). Europa Press. 8 August 2018.
- ^ a b "Games played by Mathias Jensen in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
- ^ a b c d e "Brentford sign Mathias Jensen from Celta Vigo". www.brentfordfc.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
- ^ "Frank feeling good about Brentford's fortunes". Ealing Times. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
- ^ a b "Games played by Mathias Jensen in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
- ^ "Brentford 1 Fulham 2". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- ^ a b "Games played by Mathias Jensen in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ^ a b Vincent, Gareth (29 May 2021). "Brentford 2–0 Swansea City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
- ^ McCullough, Ian (11 August 2021). "Jensen and Dasilva to miss Arsenal game but Toney is fit". West London Sport. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
- ^ a b c "Games played by Mathias Jensen in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
- ^ Harris, Jay. "Mathias Jensen has not been at his best – do Brentford need Saman Ghoddos to kick-start season?". The Athletic. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
- ^ Vegas, Paul. "Mathias Jensen open to staying with Brentford". Tribal Football. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
- ^ a b c d Harris, Jay. "Mathias Jensen made replacing Eriksen look so effortless that nobody talks about it anymore". The Athletic. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
- ^ a b c d "Jensen signs new contract". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
- ^ a b c Goodwin, Adam. "Mathias Jensen: Confidence is Key". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
- ^ a b "Games played by Mathias Jensen in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
- ^ @BrentfordFC (14 August 2022). "🙌 Mathias Jensen 🙌 A well-deserved Man of the Match award for Mathias! #BrentfordFC | #BREMUN | @UtilitaFootball" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Jensen becomes club's most-capped player". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
- ^ "Brentford 1–0 Man City: Thomas Frank's Bees beat champions through Ethan Pinnock's goal but miss out on Europe". Sky Sports. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
- ^ "Ranking every Premier League team's starting midfield from worst to best – Man Utd only 6th". GiveMeSport. 21 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ "Mathias Jensen injury update". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ "Injury update: Ajer, Hickey and Jensen". Brentford FC. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ a b "Games played by Mathias Jensen in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
- ^ Brentford F.C. at the Football Club History Database
- ^ a b c d e f Mathias Jensen national team profile at the Danish Football Association (in Danish)
- ^ "Revealed: Every World Cup 2018 squad – Final 23-man lists". Goal.com.
- ^ "16 players building-up to international action this week". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ^ "Christian Nørgaard and Mathias Jensen named in Denmark Euro 2020 squad". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
- ^ "Christian and Mathias' Euro adventure ends in Semi-Final". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
- ^ "De første spillere til VM-truppen er fundet". DBU (in Danish). Retrieved 7 November 2022.
- ^ "Hjulmand har udtaget truppen til EM". DBU (in Danish). 30 May 2024. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ "Germany 2–0 Denmark LIVE: Euro 2024 football score, commentary, report & updates". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
- ^ Gillett, Stephen. "The Mighty Interview – Mathias Jensen" (PDF). The Mighty Delta (Interview). pp. 13–16. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
- ^ "Games played by Mathias Jensen in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
External links
[edit]- Mathias Jensen at Soccerway
- Mathias Jensen at Soccerbase
- Mathias Jensen national team profile at the Danish Football Association (in Danish)
- Mathias Jensen – UEFA competition record (archive)
- Mathias Jensen at Brentford F.C.
- Mathias Jensen at Premier League
- 1996 births
- Living people
- Danish men's footballers
- Denmark men's youth international footballers
- Denmark men's under-21 international footballers
- Denmark men's international footballers
- Men's association football midfielders
- FC Nordsjælland players
- RC Celta de Vigo players
- Brentford F.C. players
- Danish Superliga players
- La Liga players
- English Football League players
- UEFA Euro 2020 players
- 2022 FIFA World Cup players
- UEFA Euro 2024 players
- Danish expatriate men's footballers
- Expatriate men's footballers in England
- Expatriate men's footballers in Spain
- Danish expatriate sportspeople in England
- Danish expatriate sportspeople in Spain
- Premier League players
- 21st-century Danish sportsmen