Mathias Jensen

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Mathias Jensen
Mathias Jensen XXIII Memorial Quinocho (RC Celta vs Mainz 05) (cropped).jpg
Jensen with Celta Vigo in 2018
Personal information
Full name Mathias Jensen [1]
Date of birth (1996-01-01) 1 January 1996 (age 29)
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*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2015–2018 Nordsjælland 63 (15)
2018–2019 Celta Vigo 6 (0)
2019– Brentford 199 (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 23:09, 15 February 2025 (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.

Contents

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

Nordsjælland

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

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

2019–2021

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jensen is a Manchester United and Barcelona supporter. [42]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 15 February 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cup [a] League cup [b] EuropeOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Nordsjælland 2015–16 [1] Danish Superliga 5100―――51
2016–17 [6] Danish Superliga22210―――232
2017–18 [1] Danish Superliga351210―――3612
2018–19 [1] Danish Superliga1010―1 [c] 0―20
Total631530―10―6715
Celta Vigo 2018–19 [11] La Liga 6000―――60
Brentford 2019–20 [14] Championship 3910010―3 [d] 0431
2020–21 [16] Championship4521040―3 [d] 0532
2021–22 [19] Premier League 3101030――350
2022–23 [25] Premier League3751010――395
2023–24 [32] Premier League3232021――364
2024–25 [43] Premier League1501020――180
Total1991160131―6022412
Career total2682690131106029727

International

As of match played 29 June 2024 [34]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Denmark 202040
2021111
202270
202360
202420
Total301
Scores and results list Denmark's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Jensen goal.
List of international goals scored by Mathias Jensen
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetitionRef.
128 March 2021 MCH Arena, Herning, DenmarkFlag of Moldova.svg  Moldova 5–08–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification [34]

Honours

Brentford

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Mathias Jensen at Soccerway. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  2. ↑ "Get to Know: Mathias Jensen". Brentford FC. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  3. ↑ "Mathias Jensen". Brentford FC. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  4. ↑ "FC Nordsjælland forlænger med U19-anfører" (in Danish). bold.dk. 15 January 2015.
  5. ↑ "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.
  6. 1 2 "Games played by Mathias Jensen in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  7. ↑ "Mathias Jensen stolt af anførerrolle i FCN". bold.dk (in Danish). 31 August 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  8. 1 2 "Mathias Jensen snuppede årets talent". bold.dk (in Danish). 2 March 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  9. 1 2 "Mathias Jensen er årets spiller i FCN" (in Danish). bold.dk. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  10. 1 2 "El Celta refuerza su centro del campo con el danés Mathias Jensen" (in Spanish). Europa Press. 8 August 2018.
  11. 1 2 "Games played by Mathias Jensen in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 "Brentford sign Mathias Jensen from Celta Vigo". www.brentfordfc.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  13. ↑ "Frank feeling good about Brentford's fortunes". Ealing Times. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  14. 1 2 "Games played by Mathias Jensen in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  15. ↑ "Brentford 1 Fulham 2". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  16. 1 2 "Games played by Mathias Jensen in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  17. 1 2 Vincent, Gareth (29 May 2021). "Brentford 2–0 Swansea City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  18. ↑ McCullough, Ian (11 August 2021). "Jensen and Dasilva to miss Arsenal game but Toney is fit". West London Sport. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  19. 1 2 3 "Games played by Mathias Jensen in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  20. ↑ 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.
  21. ↑ Vegas, Paul. "Mathias Jensen open to staying with Brentford". Tribal Football. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  22. 1 2 3 4 Harris, Jay. "Mathias Jensen made replacing Eriksen look so effortless that nobody talks about it anymore" . The Athletic. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  23. 1 2 3 4 "Jensen signs new contract". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  24. 1 2 3 Goodwin, Adam. "Mathias Jensen: Confidence is Key". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  25. 1 2 "Games played by Mathias Jensen in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  26. ↑ @BrentfordFC (14 August 2022). "🙌 Mathias Jensen 🙌 A well-deserved Man of the Match award for Mathias! #BrentfordFC | #BREMUN | @UtilitaFootball" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  27. ↑ "Jensen becomes club's most-capped player". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  28. ↑ "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.
  29. ↑ "Ranking every Premier League team's starting midfield from worst to best – Man Utd only 6th". GiveMeSport. 21 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  30. ↑ "Mathias Jensen injury update". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  31. ↑ "Injury update: Ajer, Hickey and Jensen". Brentford FC. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  32. 1 2 "Games played by Mathias Jensen in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  33. ↑ Brentford F.C. at the Football Club History Database
  34. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Mathias Jensen national team profile at the Danish Football Association (in Danish)
  35. ↑ "Revealed: Every World Cup 2018 squad – Final 23-man lists". Goal.com.
  36. ↑ "16 players building-up to international action this week". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  37. ↑ "Christian Nørgaard and Mathias Jensen named in Denmark Euro 2020 squad". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  38. ↑ "Christian and Mathias' Euro adventure ends in Semi-Final". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  39. ↑ "De første spillere til VM-truppen er fundet". DBU (in Danish). Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  40. ↑ "Hjulmand har udtaget truppen til EM". DBU (in Danish). 30 May 2024. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  41. ↑ "Germany 2–0 Denmark LIVE: Euro 2024 football score, commentary, report & updates". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  42. ↑ Gillett, Stephen. "The Mighty Interview – Mathias Jensen" (PDF). The Mighty Delta (Interview). pp. 13–16. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  43. ↑ "Games played by Mathias Jensen in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
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