As is often the case, top performing players at mid-table clubs often go under the radar. A player who fits that exact description at present is Brentford’s Danish playmaker Mikkel Damsgaard. 

It was reported this week that the 24-year-old had signed a new long-term contract with the Bees, which runs until the summer of 2030. This is no less than the former Sampdoria man deserves, as he is enjoying a truly stellar campaign, most recently helping Brentford to a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace on Matchday 23.

Brentford currently sit 11th in the Premier League table, having won nine of their 23 games, racking up 31 points. Damsgaard has been the club’s primary creator in that time, racking up eight assists, with his closest rival being Bryan Mbeumo, who has only three.

With Bees fans probably buzzing to hear that he has extended his stay at the Gtech Community Stadium, a look back at the Dane’s career shows just how far he has come in a Brentford shirt.

Damsgaard signed for Brentford from Sampdoria

Damsgaard initially joined Brentford for a fee of around £12 million in the summer of 2022 from Italian club Sampdoria. He was 22 years old at the time, having been acquired by the Italian club from his home country, in which he had been featuring regularly for Nordsjaelland.

10 goals and six assists in 35 Superligaen had been enough to tempt the then-Serie A club into a move for the Dane, who continued to impress at the young age of 20, by producing two goals and four assists in his breakout season.

Despite not registering a goal contribution in 12 appearances during his second campaign on the continent, Brentford manager Thomas Frank continued the trend of signing his compatriots, deciding to take a punt on the young Damsgaard.

Damsgaard initially struggled at the Gtech

Although it has paid off in the long run, it is crucial to remember that things have not always been smooth sailing for the Danish midfielder since his move to England.

The player’s initial two years at the club actually yielded only three assists, with his first Premier League goal only coming this season: a 50th-minute low-driven strike at the near post in a 3-2 win over Bournemouth.

49 topflight appearances had been made by Damsgaard prior to this campaign, so it must have been a great relief for the Dane to finally see himself on the scoresheet after so many games without a goal.

What is possibly most impressive, however, is the player’s development in his versatility. He was deployed solely as a left winger while playing for Sampdoria, but has since been used as a winger, centre-midfielder and a number 10 while operating under Thomas Frank.

Damsgaard has flourished this season at Brentford

Being played in multiple positions throughout the campaign has not hampered the Danish international’s progress in the slightest and has in fact led to him being able to nail down a starting spot in Frank’s lineup, as he has played from the off in 20 of his team’s Premier League matches this season.

Aside from his versatility, the most impressive part of Damsgaard’s game has certainly been his creativity. The midfield maestro registers 0.42 assists per game, better than 97% of players in the same position, as well as creating 1.95 chances per game, putting him in the top 11%.

Damsgaard is also a tricky player to dispossess, notching a 60% dribble success rate within which he completes 1.58 dribbles per match.

His cross accuracy is also deceptively high at 28.8%. This quality when whipping a ball into the box was evidenced by his assist against Crystal Palace this weekend, in which he found the head of Kevin Schade expertly to put Brentford two goals up.

To compare his creativity to the rest of the division, it is important to note that the 24-year-old has the league’s fourth highest assist tally, behind only Mohamed Salah, Bukayo Saka and Antonee Robinson.

With his performances this season seeming to go under the radar for most non-Brentford fans, it is crucial to shine a light on just how well the Dane has played. A new contract is well-deserved, testament to his improvement under Frank. Bees fans should be ecstatic that their magician has committed his future to the club for the next five years.