Kasper Junker

Kasper Junker

Personal information
Full name	Kasper Aalund Junker [1]
Date of birth	(1994-03-05) 5 March 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth	Vinding, Denmark
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) [2]
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Nagoya Grampus
Number	77
Youth career
1998–????	Vinding SF
	Vejle Boldklub
	Kolding IF
0000–2012	FC Djursland
2012–2013	Randers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013–2016	Randers	17	(0)
2015	→ Fredericia (loan)	0	(0)
2016–2018	AGF	61	(7)
2018–2019	Horsens	25	(3)
2019	→ Stabæk (loan)	12	(6)
2020	Bodø/Glimt	25	(27)
2021–2023	Urawa Red Diamonds	42	(16)
2023	→ Nagoya Grampus (loan)	33	(16)
2024–	Nagoya Grampus	0	(0)
International career
2013	Denmark U20	5	(0)
2016–2017	Denmark U21	4	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:19, 11 January 2024 (UTC)

Kasper Aalund Junker (born 5 March 1994) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a forward for J1 League club Nagoya Grampus.

Career

Early years

Junker started playing football as a four-year-old with local club Vinding SF before moving to the Vejle Boldklub academy and from there on to Kolding IF. He joined Hessel Gods Fodboldkostskole (Hessel Gods Football Academy) in tenth grade, where he was coached by the likes of Flemming Povlsen and played for FC Djursland's team in the Denmark Series. ^[3] Junker was spotted by scouts of Randers, whom he joined at U19 level in the summer of 2012, while attending HHX ("Higher Commercial Examination Programme") at Tradium Randers. ^[4]

Randers

Junker made his Danish Superliga debut for Randers as a substitute in the away match against Vestsjælland on 7 March 2014, and contributed with an assist to Kasper Fisker's goal in the 1–1 draw. ^[5] Junker also came on the pitch on 4 April when Randers beat AGF 1–0 in Aarhus. ^[6]

In the summer of 2014, he signed a full-time contract with Randers, and was thus promoted to the first team and became a professional. ^[7] In January 2015, he was sent on a six-month loan to second-tier Danish 1st Division club Fredericia, but failed to make an appearance. ^[8]

AGF

In the summer of 2016, Junker signed a three-year contract with Randers' Superliga rivals to the south, AGF, ^[9] where he began the season as a starter due to Morten "Duncan" Rasmussen's injury in a pre-season match. ^[10]

Horsens

On the last day of the transfer window, 31 August 2018, Junker signed with AC Horsens on a five-year contract for an undisclosed fee. However, the Horsens stated that it was a record transfer fee for the club. ^[11]

Norway

On 9 August 2019, Junker was loaned out to Norwegian club Stabæk from Horsens for the rest of 2019 with an option to buy. ^[12] On 17 December 2019, he signed a three-year contract with Norwegian club Bodø/Glimt from 1 January 2020. ^[13]

Japan

In April 2021 he was sold to Japanese club Urawa Red Diamonds. ^[14] On 5 January 2023, Nagoya Grampus announced the signing of Junker on loan from Urawa Red Diamonds for the season. ^[15] On 5 January 2023, fellow J1 League club Nagoya Grampus announced the signing of Junker on loan for the 2023 season. ^[16] At the end of the campaign, he left Urawa following the expiration of his contract, and subsequently joined Nagoya Grampus on a free transfer for the 2024 season. ^{[17] [18]}

Career statistics

Club

As of 7 November 2023 ^[19]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Randers	2013–14	Danish Superliga	4	0	0	0	–		–		–		4	0
	2014–15		5	0	0	0	–		–		–		5	0
	2015–16		8	0	2	1	–		–		–		10	1
	Total		17	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	19	1
AGF	2016–17	Danish Superliga	26	3	1	3	–		–		–		27	6
	2017–18		28	4	0	0	–		–		–		28	4
	2018–19		7	0	0	0	–		–		–		7	0
	Total		61	7	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	62	10
Horsens	2018–19	Danish Superliga	22	3	1	0	–		–		–		23	3
	2019–20		3	0	0	0	–		–		–		3	0
	Total		25	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	26	3
Stabæk (loan)	2019	Eliteserien	12	6	0	0	–		–		–		12	6
Bodø/Glimt	2020		25	27	–		–		1	1	–		26	28
Urawa Red Diamonds	2021	J1 League	21	9	5	3	6	4	–		–		32	16
	2022		21	7	0	0	3	0	6	4	0	0	30	11
	Total		42	16	5	3	9	4	6	4	0	0	61	27
Nagoya Grampus (loan)	2023	J1 League	30	14	3	1	6	0	–		–		39	15
Career total			212	73	12	8	15	4	7	5	0	0	257	96

Honours

Club

Bodø/Glimt

• Eliteserien: 2020 ^[20]

Urawa Red Diamonds

• Emperor's Cup: 2021 ^[21]
• AFC Champions League: 2022 ^{[22] [23]}

Individual

• Eliteserien top scorer: 2020 ^[24]
• J.League MVP of the month: May 2021 ^[25]

References

1. "TEAM PROFILE | URAWA RED DIAMONDS OFFICIAL WEBSITE". urawa-reds.co.jp. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
2. Kasper Junker at Soccerway. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
3. Thomsen, Lars Norman (1 February 2021). "Hvor spiller tidligere FC Djursland topscorer i foråret?". Syddjurs Adresseavisen (in Danish). Retrieved 7 February 2021.
4. Thomsen, Lars Norman (2 July 2012). "FC Djursland mister sin topscorer til Randers FC". Syddjurs Adresseavisen (in Danish). Retrieved 7 February 2021.
5. Thomsen, Lars Norman (5 April 2016). "Fodbold: Tidligere FC Djursland topscorer rykker videre til provinsens største by". Norddjurs Lokalavisen (in Danish). Retrieved 8 February 2021.
6. "Højdepunkter AGF-Randers FC 4. april 2014" (in Danish). AGF. 5 April 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
7. Thomsen, Lars Norman (25 April 2014). "Forhenværende FC Djursland topscorer rykker op i hierakiet". Norddjurs Lokalavisen (in Danish). Retrieved 7 February 2021.
8. Helmin, Jesper (20 January 2015). "Randers sender angrebstalent til Fredericia". bold.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 8 February 2021.
9. "AGF skriver kontrakt med Kasper Junker". agf.dk (in Danish). AGF. 4 April 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
10. Blond, Mikael (22 June 2016). "Junker: Selvfølgelig er Duncan klart foran". bold.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 8 February 2021.
11. "AC Horsens køber Kasper Junker". achorsens.dk (in Danish). AC Horsens. 1 September 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
12. HER ER STABÆKS NYE SPISS, stabak.no, 9 August 2019
13. Kasper Junker signert for Bodø/Glimt, glimt.no, 17 December 2019
14. Fredriksen, Benjamin (1 April 2021). "Kasper Junker er klar for japansk fotball: – Tidspunktet er ikke optimalt". NRK.
15. "キャスパー ユンカー選手、期限付き移籍加入内定のお知らせ". nagoya-grampus.jp/ (in Japanese). Nagoya Grampus. 5 January 2023. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
16. "キャスパー ユンカー選手、期限付き移籍加入内定のお知らせ". nagoya-grampus.jp/ (in Japanese). Nagoya Grampus. 5 January 2023. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
17. "キャスパー ユンカー選手、移籍加入のお知らせ". Nagoya Grampus (in Japanese). 11 January 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
18. Schmidt, Martin (11 January 2024). "Nagoya køber Junker fri". bold.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 11 January 2024.
19. "Kasper Junker". altomfotball.no (in Norwegian). TV 2. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
20. "Flyvende danskerduo sikrer norsk topklub guldmedaljer". Ringkøbing-Skjern Dagbladet (in Danish). 22 November 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
21. "浦和ユンカー、貴重な"歓喜のロッカールーム"動画公開「こーゆーの待ってた！」". FOOTBALL ZONE (in Japanese). 19 December 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
22. "Urawa Reds edge Al Hilal for historic third title". AFC . 6 May 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
23. Orlowitz, Dan (6 May 2023). "Urawa beats Al Hilal to capture third Asian Champions League title". The Japan Times . Retrieved 6 May 2023.
24. Roesen, Andreas (22 December 2020). "Kasper Junker blev topscorer alene i Norge". bold.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 8 February 2021.
25. "月間ＭＶＰにユンカー　Ｊ１". jiji.com (in Japanese). 11 June 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.

External links

• Kasper Junker national team profile at the Danish Football Association (in Danish)
• Kasper Junker at J.League ( archive ) (in Japanese)