He was the player who silenced Wembley in the week that he turned 21. The free kick of Mikkel Damsgaard for Denmark in the Euro 2020 semi -final against England launched the midfielder to fame.
Imagine that at that time Damsgaard said that his next career goal should wait another three and a half years in the EFL Cup of September the third round draw for Brentford against Leyton Orient.
Now 24, the Danish midfielder has been traveling since that Wembley moment. It includes a switch to the Premier League from Sampdoria to Brentford in 2022, but it is only now-two and six months later that he starts to show his value.
Damsgaard is currently fourth in the Premier League Assists Chart with eight, behind Antonee Robinson, Bukayo Saka and Mohamed Salah.
His last was an excellent delivery for Kevin Damage against Crystal Palace last weekend and another set-up against Tottenham this weekend, Live on Sky Sports, would see him break the club record of Brentford for most assists in a Premier League season.
But the story of Damsgaard is not a breakthrough. Many have known his talents for a while. Even before his Wembley moment, his former manager at FC Nordsjaelland described him as the “greatest talent that Denmark has produced since Michael Laudrup”. Bad if you're Christian Eriksen.
The underlying story of Damsgaard – not known to many in the Premier League public – is a struggle with rheumatoid arthritis while he is in Sampdoria. He was diagnosed for the first time after a knee operation six months after his Wembley moment – and that ruled him for half a year.
The condition causes inflammation and pain in the joints and was a huge physical setback for the midfielder. He described his symptoms after he came to Brentford, he admitted that his “mind could move faster than his legs” – and previously revealed that he was still taking medication for it.
“I had lost many kilos, so I was very, very skinny,” he told Brentford's Club Media in 2023. “I had trust problems and I didn't have the same speed and strength in my legs.
“I had to play a little smarter, and I played much worse than what I could do, because I was unable to reach the level I wanted.
“I was back and I played without pain, but I couldn't move the way I wanted, and I didn't have the confidence to try the same things.”
Despite missing so much football, Brentford and Thomas Frank still chose to move for him in the summer of 2022. “They had done their research, spoken with my physio movement.
But such an acute problem takes time to recover. The first season of Damsgaard in Brentford saw him play 26 times in the Premier League, usually from the replacements' bank and without a goal or an assist.
Last season was intended as the term he started on, but the Dane almost went back to. Damsgaard was excluded for four months with knee problems the problem again.
The 24-year-old is now just over a year of injury and that can be seen. There seems to be some power back in his legs.
First of all, he is part of an aggressive midfield of Brentford that is sometimes so difficult to play against. He is one of the best press of the Premier League of De Bal – and with club captain and countryman Christian Norgaard next to him, it provides a base in the midfield of Brentford.
Then comes the creative touch. His many assists are a nice mix between open game (6) and set pieces (2). The summer signing Fabio Carvalho, an investment of £ 27.5 million by the bees, has hardly been given a kick since he moved from Liverpool. This is due to Damsgaard, who was rewarded earlier this month with a new contract.
“After two years of relatively consistent training and a good environment – and with both ways patience – we now see the fruit of work,” said bee boss Frank at the time of the announcement.
“He has been one of our best players this season; we are very dangerous when he plays. But there is more of Mikkel.
“It has been half a season, now he has to perform a full season. We have to add layers, but I am happy with what he does.”
Brentford has a history of not only spotting then discharging talent for big money, but also giving time to those who start slowly or struggle with injuries.
This season, Damsgaard embodies all those themes, but Keane Lewis-Potter, Nathan Collins and damage too. You can bet that Rico Henry, Aaron Hickey, Igor Thiago and even the slow Start-Carvalho do that too.
But if Damsgaard continues with the momentum, he is perhaps one of the following talents with a big money through the starting door in Brentford to larger clubs.
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