Philip Zinckernagel

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Philip Zinckernagel
Personal information
Full name Philip Aksel Frigast Zinckernagel [1]
Date of birth (1994-12-16) 16 December 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth Copenhagen, Denmark [2]
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) [2]
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Winger
Second striker
Team information
Current team
Chicago Fire
Number 11
Youth career
KB
–2010 Copenhagen
2010–2013 Nordsjælland
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2013–2015 HB Køge 56 (5)
2015–2016 FC Helsingør 29 (5)
2016–2018 SønderjyskE 44 (4)
2018–2020 Bodø/Glimt 82 (31)
2021–2022 Watford 20 (1)
2021–2022Nottingham Forest (loan) 42 (6)
2022–2023 Olympiacos 1 (0)
2022–2023Standard Liège (loan) 27 (10)
2023–2024 Club Brugge 29 (7)
2024Bodø/Glimt (loan) 11 (3)
2025– Chicago Fire 24 (11)
International career
2011–2012 Denmark U18 2 (0)
2013 Denmark U20 2 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21 August 2025

Philip Aksel Frigast Zinckernagel (born 16 December 1994) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire.

Contents

Club career

Early career

In March 2018, Zinckernagel joined Eliteserien side FK Bodø/Glimt from SønderjyskE for €200,000. [3]

Zinckernagel scored 19 goals as FK Bodø/Glimt won their first ever top-flight Norwegian title in 2020. [4] He also scored three goals in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League qualifying phase before losing to Milan in the third qualifying round.

England

On 1 January 2021, Zinckernagel signed for English side Watford on a five-and-a-half-year contract. [5] He scored his first goal for Watford in a 6–0 win against Bristol City on 13 February 2021. [6]

On 7 August 2021, Zinckernagel signed on a season-long loan with EFL Championship side Nottingham Forest. [7] He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 defeat to Blackburn Rovers on 18 August 2021. [8] On 10 June 2022, Forest announced Zinckernagel would be returning to Watford once his loan expired.

Olympiacos

On 24 June 2022, Zinckernagel joined Greek champions Olympiacos on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee. [9] [10] [11]

Zinckernagel made his debut for Olympiacos in a UEFA Champions League second qualifying round tie against Israeli side Maccabi Haifa on 20 July 2022. He scored as the match finished in a 1–1 draw. [12]

Zinckernagel joined Belgian side Standard Liège on loan on transfer deadline day after a falling out with Olympiacos manager Carlos Corberán. [13] Corberan himself was later dismissed of his duties as Olympiacos manager on 18 September 2022. [14]

Club Brugge

On 1 August 2023, Belgian Pro League side Club Brugge announced the signing of Zinckernagel on a two-year contract, [15] for a reported fee of €2.5 million. [16] On 17 August 2024, he returned to Bodø/Glimt on loan until the end of 2024. [17]

Chicago Fire

On 6 January 2025, Zinckernagel made the move to Major League Soccer side Chicago Fire on a four-year deal. [18] Due to his strong play for the Fire in 2025, he was named to the MLS All-Star Roster by All-Star head coach Nico Estévez on June 25; he would go on to record an assist in the All-Star game after coming on in the second half. On July 19, 2025, he recorded his tenth assist of the MLS regular season, making him the first Chicago Fire player to ever record ten goals and ten assists in a season, and tying the MLS record of set by Josef Martinez for consecutive road games with a goal contribution (10). [19]

Career statistics

As of match played 17 August 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cup [a] League cup [b] ContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Nordsjælland 2012–13 Danish Superliga 000000
HB Køge 2013–14 Danish 1st Division 29300293
2014–15 27210282
Total56510575
FC Helsingør 2015–16 Danish 1st Division23310243
2016–17 620062
Total29510305
SønderjyskE 2016–17 Danish Superliga24110251
2017–18 20311214
Total44421465
Bodø/Glimt 2018 Eliteserien 24631277
2019 30610316
2020 28193 [c] 33122
Total823141338935
Watford 2020–21 Championship 2010010211
Nottingham Forest (loan) 2021–22 Championship42641103 [d] 0507
Olympiacos 2022–23 Super League Greece 10006 [e] 272
Standard Liège (loan) 2022–23 Belgian Pro League 24910259
Club Brugge 2023–24 Belgian Pro League2972012 [f] 0417
2024–25 Belgian Pro League00000000
Total29720120417
Bodø/Glimt (loan) 2024 Eliteserien113008 [c] 2195
Chicago Fire 2025 MLS 2411212612
Career total36282174202973041393

Honours

Bodø/Glimt

Nottingham Forest

Club Brugge

Individual

References

  1. "Club list of registered players: Nottingham Forest" (PDF). English Football League. p. 39. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  2. 1 2 "P. Zinckernagel". Soccerway. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  3. "Avisa Nordland - Blir ny Glimt-spiller: - Gleder meg voldsomt". an.no (in Norwegian). 30 March 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  4. "Zinckernagel: "It Was A No-Brainer"". watfordfc.com. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  5. "Official: Zinckernagel Joins Hornets". watfordfc.com. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  6. "Watford 6-0 Bristol City". BBC. 13 February 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  7. Club, Nottingham Forest Football (7 August 2021). "Zinckernagel joins Forest". www.nottinghamforest.co.uk.
  8. "Nottingham Forest 1-2 Blackburn". BBC. 18 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  9. "Zinckernagel Departs". Watford FC. 24 June 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  10. "Ολυμπιακός: Δικός του ο Ζινκερνάγκελ - Έρχεται Ελλάδα ο Δανός". thepressroom.gr. 22 June 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  11. "Ο Ολυμπιακός ανακοίνωσε την απόκτηση του Ζινκερνάγκελ". Sport 24. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  12. "M. Haifa 1-1 Olympiacos". UEFA. 20 July 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  13. "Nottingham Forest promotion hero makes shocking claim after surprise deadline day exit". Nottingham Forest News. 14 September 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  14. Rayner, Stuart (19 September 2022). "Carlos Corberan's Huddersfield Town resignation backfired for everyone as he is sacked by Olympiacos". Yorkshire Post . Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  15. "Club Brugge sign Philip Zinckernagel". Club Brugge. 1 August 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  16. "Zinckernagel at Club Brugge: the details are known". euro.dayfr.com. 1 August 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  17. "Poengkongen er tilbake: – Jeg har ikke tenkt på annet" [The score king is back: - I haven't thought about anything else] (in Norwegian). Bodø/Glimt. 17 August 2024. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  18. "Chicago Fire FC Acquires Danish Winger Philip Zinckernagel from Club Brugge | Chicago Fire FC". chicagofirefc.
  19. Calabrese, Alex (22 July 2025). "History-maker Zinckernagel set for All-Star Game - MIR97 Media". meninred97.com. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  20. "Forest return to Premier League after 23-year wait". BBC Sport. 29 May 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.