Mikkel Damsgaard: From Promise to Persistence
At just 18, Mikkel Damsgaard was labeled Denmark’s top future talent by then-Nordsjaelland’s technical director Flemming Pedersen, a comparison to the legendary Michael Laudrup. This lofty expectation was perhaps too much pressure for a teenager who had only recently completed his first significant season with the club.
Damsgaard took the comments with a grain of salt. He acknowledged having a good rapport with Pedersen, noting, “he sometimes says crazy things.” However, such lofty predictions can set young players up for disappointment, and by the time he reached the age of 23, Damsgaard appeared to be another wonderkid who might falter under pressure, despite not being responsible for his struggles.
After four injury-plagued years following a thrilling Euro 2020, where he scored against England in the semi-finals and became the youngest Dane to score at a European Championship, Damsgaard is finally revealing his true potential. Despite the immense challenge of matching the talent of one of the sport’s greats, he is starting to compete favorably in the Premier League since his unexpected transfer to Brentford in 2022.
Joining a growing contingent of Danish players at Brentford, including head coach Thomas Frank and captain Christian Norgaard, Damsgaard’s arrival was nearly derailed by his injury issues during his final season with Sampdoria due to a diagnosis of reactive arthritis. The hopes for improvement at Brentford were dashed as he made only 16 league starts over the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons, contributing two assists with no goals.
Reflecting on a challenging period, he admitted, “You could say I lost a little bit of my spark.” However, his resurgence this season has been remarkable. Damsgaard now ranks second in the assist leaderboard, trailing only Trent Alexander-Arnold, and his chance creation statistics position him alongside top players like Mo Salah, Cole Palmer, and Bruno Fernandes. His comeback underscores the importance of the patience shown by Frank during his rough patches.
This season, Damsgaard has already played 27 league matches, experiencing more minutes than in any campaign since 2019/20. He acknowledges surprise at his accomplishments this season, saying he would have deemed it “a little bit crazy” if told he would achieve ten Premier League assists. Despite his playing style putting stress on his body, he ranks fourth in final-third possessions won, perfectly suiting his dynamic game.
Once linked with several top European clubs, Damsgaard has chosen to commit to Brentford by signing a new four-year contract. “You could say there was an element of repaying their faith,” he shared. “It was a pretty easy decision for me, I’m very happy here.” With confidence on the rise, he believes Brentford can challenge teams like Arsenal, who may be distracted by impending Champions League matches. Damsgaard concluded, “There’s never a game we go into thinking we can’t win.”
Watch Arsenal vs Brentford live on Sky Sports Premier League from 5pm on Saturday; kick-off at 5.30pm.
