_(cropped).jpg) Jensen withCelta 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* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2018 | Nordsjælland | 63 | (15) |
| 2018–2019 | Celta Vigo | 6 | (0) |
| 2019– | Brentford | 200 | (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 23:59, 8 March 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 professionalfootballer who plays as acentral midfielder forPremier League clubBrentford and theDenmark national team.
Jensen is a product of theNordsjællandacademy and began his senior career with the club in 2016. Following two seasons as a regular member of the team, he transferred toCelta Vigo in 2018. After an injury-hit2018–19 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 atEuro 2020, the2022 World Cup andEuro 2024.
Amidfielder, Jensen progressed through theacademy atNordsjælland and signed a three-year professional contract in January 2015.[4][5] He was promoted into the first team squad for the2015–16 season and made five appearances during the campaign, scoring one goal, which came in a 2–2 draw withRanders on 1 May 2016.[1] Jensen was a regular in the2016–17 season, making 22 appearances,[6] before2017–18 proved to be his breakthrough season.[1] He made 36 appearances, scored 12 goals, was awarded thecaptaincy and his achievements were recognised by theDBU 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 early2018–19-season appearances, Jensen departed Nordsjælland in August 2018.[10] During just over three seasons as a professional atFarum Park, Jensen made 66 appearances and scored 15 goals.[1]
On 8 August 2018, Jensen moved to Spain joiningLa Liga clubCelta Vigo on a five-year contract.[10] During an injury-affected2018–19 season, he made just six appearances and left the club in July 2019.[11][12]
On 10 July 2019, Jensen moved to England signing withChampionship clubBrentford 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 the2019–20 season,[14] which ended with defeat in the2020 Championship play-off final.[15] Jensen made a career high 53 appearances during the2020–21 season and celebrated promotion to thePremier League with victory in the2021 Championship play-off final.[16][17]
As a result of suffering a "badly gashed" foot while away on international duty, Jensen missed Brentford's entire2021–22pre-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 ofChristian Eriksen,[22] Jensen made 35 appearances during a "stop-start" season.[19][23] Despite being affected byCOVID-19 and another minor injury, Jensen won praise from head coachThomas Frank for training "like an animal" while sidelined.[22]
Entering the final year of his contract, Jensen hired his ownpersonal trainer to work with him daily during the off-season inDenmark and he returned for the2022–23 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 regularset piece taker.[1][24] Coaching from specialistthrow-in coach Thomas Gronnemark helped length his throws.[24] Jensen's performance and first Premier League goal in a 4–0 win overManchester United on 13 August 2022 was recognised with theman of the match award.[25][26]
On 18 January 2022, Jensen signed a new3+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 forDenmark in aEuro 2024 qualifier versusFinland 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]
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-table2023–24 season.[32][33]
Jensen made 30 appearances and scored 3 goals for Denmark betweenU18 andU21 level.[34] He was a part of Denmark's squads at the2017 and2019 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 the2018 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 teammateChristian Nørgaard.[36] He made his full international debut with a start in a 4–0friendly win over theFaroe Islands on 7 October and scored his first full international goal on his fifth cap, in a 8–02022 World Cup qualifying win overMoldova on 28 March 2021.[34]
Jensen was named in the Denmark squad forEuro 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's2022 World Cup squad and made two appearances prior to the team's group stage exit.[34][39] Jensen was named in Denmark'sEuro 2024 squad,[40] but was an unused substitute in each match prior to the team's round-of-16 exit.[1][41]
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 the2022–23 season, he remarked that while he has "always been a technical player who doesn't really enjoy the bigtackles", he had developed his "aggression" and "adapted to the tempo of the Premier League".[23]
Jensen is a Manchester United andBarcelona supporter.[42]
| 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 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ― | ― | 19 | 0 | |||
| Total | 200 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 13 | 1 | ― | 6 | 0 | 225 | 12 | |||
| Career total | 269 | 26 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 298 | 27 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denmark | 2020 | 4 | 0 |
| 2021 | 11 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 30 | 1 | |
| 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] |
Brentford
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