Jonas Knudsen

Jonas Hjort Knudsen (born 16 September 1992) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a defender for Malmö FF and the Denmark national team.

Jonas Knudsen
Knudsen playing for Ipswich Town in 2015
Personal information
Full name Jonas Hjort Knudsen[1]
Date of birth (1992-09-16) 16 September 1992
Place of birth Esbjerg, Denmark
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s) Left back
Club information
Current team
 Malmö FF
Number 3
Youth career
2004–2006 Hjerting IF
2006–2009 Esbjerg fB
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2015 Esbjerg fB 123 (5)
2015–2019 Ipswich Town 148 (4)
2019– Malmö FF 41 (0)
National team‡
2009–2010 Denmark U18 6 (0)
2010–2011 Denmark U19 9 (0)
2011–2012 Denmark U20 3 (0)
2013–2015 Denmark U21 17 (0)
2014– Denmark 7 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19 December 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16 October 2019

He played for Esbjerg fB from 2009 before signing with Ipswich Town in 2015. He is known for his long throws and in Denmark his throws have been compared to Rory Delap's.[3]

Club career

Esbjerg fB

In November 2009 he signed his first professional contract with Esbjerg,[4] and following the winter break of the Danish Superliga, he made his professional debut in a 0–4 home loss against Randers FC, becoming the second youngest Esbjerg debutant ever second only to Andreas Sørensen who made his debut aged 16 years.[5]

Following the departure of Kevin Conboy to NEC, Knudsen established himself as the first choice left back for the club. In the 2012–13 season, the Esbjerg team finished fourth in the Danish Superliga and won the Danish Cup, and Knudsen was given a new contract in April 2013.

Ipswich Town

Knudsen signed for Ipswich Town on 31 July 2015 on a three-year deal.[6] He debuted for the club on 8 August 2015, in a 2–2 draw with Brentford. He scored his first goal on 19 April 2016, scoring a late equaliser in a 1–1 draw with Fulham at Portman Road. He went on to make 43 appearances during his first season at Portman Road, scoring once.[7]

He continued to feature as a first-team regular during his second season at the club, making his first appearance on the opening day of the season in a 4–2 win over Barnsley. During the season he memorably scored in both East Anglian derbies, which both finished 1–1.[8] He made 36 appearances over the course of the season, scoring twice.[8]

His first appearance of the 2017–18 season came on the opening day of the season in a 1–0 win over Birmingham City. On 21 December 2017, Ipswich took up the option to extend Knudsen's contract until 2019.[9] He scored his first goal of the season on 10 April, netting the winner in a 1–0 home win over Barnsley. Knudsen took on the captain's armband for the final few games of the season, following injuries to club captain Luke Chambers. He made 44 appearances during the season, scoring once.[10]

After returning from the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Knudsen was linked with moves from multiple clubs including Stoke City and Middlesbrough.[11] He kept his place in the team once again, featuring as a first-team regular through out the season. In January 2019 he informed the club that he would not be signing a new contract, and he was released at the end of the 2018–19 season following the expiration of his contract.[12] Despite rejecting a new contract, Knudsen posted a farewell message on social media, thanking the fans for their support during his tenure.[13]

Malmö FF

On 20 June 2019, Knudsen signed for Swedish club Malmö FF on a free transfer.[14] He made his debut on 21 July 2019 in a 1–1 draw with IK Sirius.[15]

International career

Knudsen has represented Denmark at various youth levels. He made his senior international debut as a substitute in a 1–0 friendly win over Sweden on 28 June 2014.[16]

In May 2018 he was named in Denmark's preliminary 35-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[17] On 17 June, the Danish squad allowed Knudsen to fly home to meet his newborn daughter, as the Danish squad clubbed together to pay for a private flight as a paternity present for their team-mate.[18] Following his return to Russia, he made his first and only appearance of Denmark's World Cup campaign on 1 July, starting and playing the full 120 minutes as Denmark drew 1–1 with Croatia, before exiting the tournament on penalties after extra time, with Knudsen playing his part in creating Denmark's opening goal following a long throw into the Croatian box.[19]

He was included in Denmark's squad for the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League, featuring in the Dane's 0–0 draw with the Republic of Ireland in the group stages on 13 October 2018 at the Aarhus Idrætspark, Aarhus.[20]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 6 December 2020
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Esbjerg fB 2009–10[21] Superligaen 7000——70
2010–11[21] Superligaen 5020——70
2011–12[21] 1. Division 18110——191
2012–13[22] Superligaen 32151——372
2013–14[23] Superligaen 31110—8[lower-alpha 1]0401
2014–15[24] Superligaen 28240—00322
2015–16[7] Superligaen 2000——20
Total 123513100801446
Ipswich Town 2015–16[7] Championship 4211000—431
2016–17[8] Championship 3622010—392
2017–18[10] Championship 4211010—441
2018–19[25] Championship 2800010—290
Total 14844030001554
Malmö FF 2019[21] Allsvenskan 11010—8[lower-alpha 1]0200
2020[21] Allsvenskan 30051—4[lower-alpha 1]0391
Total 4106100110591
Career total 31292423019035810
  1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International
As of match played 16 October 2019[16]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Denmark
201420
201840
201910
Total70

Honours

Esbjerg fB

Malmö FF

Individual

References
  1. "EFL: Retained list: 2015/16" (PDF). English Football League. p. 27. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  2. "2018 FIFA World Cup: List of players" (PDF). FIFA. 18 June 2018. p. 8.
  3. "Jonas Knudsen: Ipswich Town signing 'the new Rory Delap'". BBC Sport. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  4. "Esbjerg skriver med talentfuld back"
  5. "Tre unge debutanter satte klubrekorder"
  6. "Jonas Knudsen: Ipswich Town sign Denmark defender". BBC Sport. 31 July 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  7. "Games played by Jonas Knudsen in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  8. "Games played by Jonas Knudsen in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  9. Warren, Andy. "Town take up option to extend 'excellent' Knudsen's deal". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  10. "Games played by Jonas Knudsen in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  11. "Boro Linked With Knudsen". TWTD. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  12. "Gerken Included in Released Blues". Ipswich Town Official Website. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  13. https://www.eadt.co.uk/sport/ipswich-town-defender-jonas-knudsen-farewell-message-1-6115543
  14. https://www.eadt.co.uk/sport/ipswich-town-defender-jonas-knudsen-joins-malmo-1-6117433
  15. "Malmö FF 1-1 IK Sirius". svenskfotboll. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  16. Jonas Knudsen at National-Football-Teams.com
  17. http://www.goal.com/en-gb/amp/news/revealed-every-world-cup-2018-squad-23-man-preliminary-lists/oa0atsduflsv1nsf6oqk576rb
  18. "Danish Squad Fly Knudsen Home to Meet Newborn Daughter". TWTD. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  19. "Knudsen Makes World Cup Debut But Denmark Exit on Penalties". TWTD. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  20. "Denmark 0-0 Republic of Ireland". UEFA. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  21. "J.Knudsen". scoresway.com. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  22. "Games played by Jonas Knudsen in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  23. "Games played by Jonas Knudsen in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  24. "Games played by Jonas Knudsen in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  25. "Games played by Jonas Knudsen in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  26. "Esbjerg fB's officielle hjemmeside | Regionens Hold" (in Danish). EfB.dk. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
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