Rico Henry, Vitaly Janelt react to Brentford’s message to Mikkel Damsgaard
Rico Henry and Vitaly Janelt reacted to a message from Brentford towards their “midfield maestro” Mikkel Damsgaard.
The Danish midfielder joined the Bees from Sampdoria in the summer of 2022 for a fee of £12.7million [The Guardian].
Despite the excitement surrounding his arrival, Damsgaard found it difficult to adapt to English football.
The 25-year-old failed to register a goal involvement in his first season at the Gtech, and in his sophomore campaign, provided just two assists.
But in his third season with Brentford, Damsgaard finally found his feet. Together with Man United-bound Bryan Mbeumo and Tottenham target Yoane Wissa, the trio devastated Premier League defences.
The goal-scoring duo took a lot of the credit for the Bees’ brilliant season, scoring 39 goals between them, but it was the Dane’s playmaking that was the catalyst for much of the West London side’s success as he assisted 10 goals.
That figure was bettered only by Mohamed Salah, Jacob Murphy, and Newcastle target Anthony Elanga, and was Damsgaard’s highest levels of production registered in his career.
Brentford wish Mikkel Damsgaard a happy birthday
Damsgaard celebrated his 25th birthday on 3 July and Brentford shared an image of their star man, captioned: “Happy birthday to our midfield maestro. Have the best day Mikkel Damsgaard”.
Showing support for their teammate, Henry and Janelt both liked the post.
Brentford face relegation if Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa leave
Football Insider Verdict
Brentford achieved their second-best Premier League finish in terms of position and points total last season.
But with Thomas Frank having left to join London rivals Tottenham and Mbeumo heading for the exit, the Bees are down their manager and best player.
Concerningly, clubs are interested in Wissa as well. If the 28-year-old leaves, then 39 of Brentford’s 66 Premier League goals last season will have departed in the same summer.
Christian Norgaard is on his way to Arsenal, leaving just Kevin Schade in the current squad to have scored more than two goals last term.
Combine the huge loss of goal-scoring output with a manager with no experience of taking charge of a Premier League team, and Brentford suddenly seem exceptionally vulnerable to a return to the Championship after four consecutive seasons in England’s top-flight.