Date: 4th November 2021 at 9:33am
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Many Danish players have found their way to the Premier League throughout the history of the competition, but who are the greatest of these Danes?

Danish betting site Odds.dk have taken a look at the ten Danish players, who we feel have made the biggest impact during their time in England.

Daniel Agger

On his day Daniel Agger was among the best defenders in the world. Sadly, he was injured all too often throughout his career. In spite of this he remains at popular figure amongst Liverpool supporters.

Agger made the move to Liverpool in 2006 from Brøndby. He managed 175 Premier League games across almost nine seasons at the club. During this time, he managed to win a League Cup as well as the Community Shield.

Nicklas Bendtner

To call Nicklas Bendtner one of the most iconic Danish Premier League players is not too far off the mark. However, he often made the headlines for the wrong reasons. Bendtner came through the Arsenal academy and was seen as a bright prospect.

Bendtner reached 108 Premier League appearances for Arsenal scoring 24 goals. He spent the majority of his final two years at the Gunners on loan before leaving for Wolfsburg in 2014. He has now retired.

Christian Eriksen

It proved to be very shrewd business by Spurs, when the got Christian Eriksen from Ajax for only £11 million. The Danish international was pretty much a success from the get-go scoring seven goals in his first season in only 25 games.

Eriksen managed 226 Premier League games and 51 league goals for Spurs, before he made the switch to Inter. He made the Premier League Team of the Year in the 2017/18 season and was twice awarded Player of the Year at Tottenham.

Thomas Gravesen

Thomas Gravesen was a classic no nonsense midfielder. He spent his time in England at Everton, where he became an important part of the success side which David Moyes managed to create during the med 2000s.

Gravesen was at Everton for four and a half seasons before making a sensational move to Real Madrid. Before that he managed 141 games for Everton scoring 11 goals.

Jesper Grønkjær

Though his last name causes English speakers some issues, Jesper Grønkjær was an important player during his time at Chelsea. The Danish winger made the move to London from Ajax in January 2000.

He is most fondly remembered in Chelsea for his goal and assist in the 2-1 win against Liverpool on the final day of the 2002/03 season, which secured Champions League football and played a key role in shaping the club’s future.

John Jensen

John Jensen is another iconic Arsenal Dane. The midfielder moved to Arsenal after having won the Euros with Denmark in 1992. As such he took part in the very first Premier League season, where he played 32 games.

Many fans of English football remember John Jensen for his lack of goals. In fact, he only managed a single goal during his time in the Premier League. This came in his 98th appearance against QPR and t-shirts were made to commemorate the historic event.

Martin Laursen

Martin Laursen’s career in England was very similar to that of Daniel Agger in the sense that Danish defender was also injured far too often. When he was fit Martin Laursen was one of the best defenders in the Premier League.

He moved to Aston Villa in 2004 from AC Milan. Laursen, an excellent header of the ball, proved to be a perfect fit in the Premier League. He made 84 appearances for Aston Villa and scored an impressive eight goals. His best season was in 2007/08 when he played every league game and scored six goals. Sadly, he was forced to retire the following season.

Kasper Schmeichel

We will get to his father later, but Kasper Schmeichel’s Premier League resume is impressive in its own right. He started his career in Manchester City but left for Notts County due to lack on playing time.

After a spell in Leeds Schmeichel moved to Leicester, where he has been since 2013. In his third season he was part of the team, which secured promotion to the Premier League. Later he would go on to win the Premier League, FA Cup and Community Shield. Schmeichel was named club captain following the departure of Wes Morgan in 2021.

Peter Schmeichel

Peter Schmeichel is arguably the greatest ever Danish player in the Premier League. He also made the move to England after winning the Euros with Denmark in 1992. As such he was part of the Manchester United team that won the first edition of the Premier League ahead of Aston Villa.

Peter Schmeichel played eight seasons for United. During this time, he won five league titles, three FA Cups, one League Cup, the Champions League, the Super Cup and four Charity Shields. Schmeichel left United for Sporting after having won the treble in 1999. He would later return to the Premier

League as a player for Aston Villa and Manchester City. During his time at Villa Schmeichel managed to become one of the few keepers who have scored in the Premier League.

Thomas Sørensen

During his spells at Sunderland, Aston Villa, and Stoke Thomas Sørensen managed 362 Premier League appearances since his English debut in 1999 for the Black Cats. He spent five years at The Stadium of Light before making the move to Aston Villa, where he was the first-choice goalkeeper for his first four season before falling out with manager Martin O’Neill.

Thus, he ended up at Stoke, where he spent six seasons, although he was only the first-choice keeper for the first two. He came close to winning the FA Cup with Stoke in 2011, but they ended up as runners-up against Manchester City.

Current Danes in the Premier League

Of those mentioned about Kasper Schmeichel is of course still active in the Premier League. Leicester also have Jannik Vestergaard in defence. Brentford have a host of Danes in the form of Mathias Jensen, Christian Nørgaard, Mads Bech Sørensen, Mathias “Zanka” Jørgensen, and Mads Roerslev.

Elsewhere in London Pierre-Emile Højbjerg is an important part of the Spurs midfield, while Andreas Christensen has also done will in Chelsea. Joachim Andersen plays for Crystal Palace, while Wolves have Oskar Buur.

Image from: unsplash.com