Similarly to fellow Dane Mikkel Damsgaard, Mathias Jensen came through the ranks at Nordsjælland.

The midfielder established himself in the first team in 2016/17, before an eye-catching 2017/18 season - during which he scored 12 goals and assisted a further 10 from central midfield – earned him a move to Celta Vigo in La Liga.

He signed a five-year deal with the Spanish club, but injury restricted him to just six appearances before he was sold to Brentford, where he signed a four-year deal. He was one of the first names on the team sheet for the next two seasons, as the Bees tried to earn promotion from the Championship.

Jensen’s performances were noted by Denmark head coach Kasper Hjulmand – his former manager at Nordsjælland – who handed him his senior debut in October 2020 and included him in his squad for the delayed Euro 2020, where he played six times from the bench as the nation reached the semi-final, where they were knocked out by eventual runners-up England.

Despite missing pre-season and the opening two league games with a leg injury, he was a regular until around February time, when Brentford pulled off the shock signing of Christian Eriksen, which reduced his playing time. When his countryman left for Manchester United in the summer of 2022, Thomas Frank suggested Jensen could replace Eriksen, a challenge he took in his stride.

His upturn in form during the final season of his contract – no doubt helped by the fact he had worked with a personal trainer during the off-season - saw him rewarded with a new three-and-a-half-year deal, with the option of a further 12 months, in January 2023, shortly after he had returned from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Jensen's football intelligence - something that allows him to make the Brentford midfield tick - can’t be learnt from something or someone.

“I’m the kind of player who wants things to work in the best way,” he said.

“That's why I’ve always found it interesting how teams build up and the positioning of different players at different times.

“I know that results are the most important thing, but I really want it to look pretty. I just love the beauty of football.”

Off the back of a near ever-present season in 2022/23, Jensen missed five games throughout November and December 2023, finishing last season with four goals and three assists in 36 appearances in all competitions, before heading off to Euro 2024.