Mikkel Damsgaard has been one of the standout players for Brentford this season, scoring two goals and registering 10 assists from 28 league games.
The attacking midfielder joined the Bees from Sampdoria in August 2022 and wasn’t able to impress until the end of last season. To put it in context, he failed to score a goal and registered only three assists in two seasons at Brentford.
He’s picked up two different injuries since joining Brentford but has been fit throughout this season.
The 24-year-old was dropped from the Denmark squad last October and featured in both games in November. Brian Riemer has included him in the squad for March’s international break.
On Tuesday, the manager spoke to reporters and was pleased when Tipsbladet asked him about the Brentford star.
“I was a little surprised there haven’t been more questions about him,” he said.
Riemer knows the Denmark international from his time at Brentford, when he worked as Thomas Frank’s assistant. He is thrilled to see his compatriot performing well for the Premier League club.
“He is our most in-form player along with Mika Biereth, and that’s just great. I depend on others, because I don’t train them myself on a daily basis, so it makes me happy to bring in players who are in top form. I’ve been following Mikkel for a while now, and it’s been fantastic,” Riemer explained.
The national team manager believes fans stopped expecting so much from Damsgaard since he left Sampdoria and that will have helped him to regain his best form.
“There hasn’t been a huge change, but Mikkel had a difficult period from his time at Sampdoria, and it takes time to come back. The pressure of expectations was still great, and then he was to be thrown out of the national team and everything,” he added.
“Something like that helps to put pressure on a player, but now he has had time and continuity to find his feet.
“I think maybe he needed the fans to give up on him a little. Many other places would have probably given up, so it has meant a lot to him that he has had a fantastic coach like Thomas Frank.”
