Aberdeen centre-back Richard Jensen’s stuttering loan stint at Danish outfit Vejle Boldklub could improve after the Superliga’s winter break, according to an expert who covers the club.
The 28-year-old Finn, who was farmed out by Dons boss Jimmy Thelin on August 23, has “generally played good” when he has had the opportunity in Denmark.
But a perfect storm of factors have meant Jensen has not featured since scoring in a 2-2 draw at home to Aalborg on October 4.
The Vejle manager who signed Jensen, Croatian boss Ivan Prelec, resigned on September 23 – six days before a 2-1 loss at home to FC Copenhagen saw Vejle claim the ignominy of the worst-ever start to a Danish Superliga campaign, with 10 straight defeats.
Prelec’s replacement, Romanian Mihai Teja, likes to play one left-footed centre-half, like Jensen, and one right-footed centre-back, says TV SYD’s Vejle correspondent, Daniel Just Schram.
Another problem? Rock-bottom Vejle’s homegrown skipper, Oliver Provstgaard, is also left-sided, and unexpectedly remained at the club after a move to Serie A team Lecce fell through on the final day of the summer transfer window.
As a result of this competition for a place in the backline, Aberdeen loanee Jensen has only started five of Vejle’s 12 league fixtures since arriving, and his last taste of game-time came close to two months ago in the Aalborg clash.
Journalist Scram said: “His role was to replace the current captain Oliver Provstgaard, a 21-year-old player from Vejle.
“He was about to be sold to an Italian team – but the Italian team blew off the deal in the last day in the transfer window.
“So it’s a big competition to Richard and both of them are left-footed centre-backs.
“The manager, he wants to play with a left-footed and a right-footed centre-back, and that’s why Richard hasn’t played in the last couple of months.”
January switch for skipper could ‘open more playing time’ for Jensen
Fortunately for Jensen, by the time strugglers Vejle return from Denmark’s three-month winter break away at sixth-placed Silkeborg on February 15, skipper Provstgaard could finally be sold.
Vejle closed out the pre-winter break section of their season with a 3-0 loss at home to second-placed Midtjylland on December 1.
Scram added: “I think the captain (Provstgaard) will be sold in the January transfer window, and that could open up more playing time for Richard in the next part of the season.”
Jensen ‘has played some good games’ since Viborg penalty blunder
According to Scram, despite Vejle’s torrid beginning to the campaign (“it has not been an easy season Richard chose to come to Denmark and play”, the journalist said wryly), the Aberdeen loanee has performed gamely when he has taken to the field – with only one standout blot on his record for the side.
Scram said: “In the Viborg game (September 15), where they lost the 5-0, it was him who started the defeat – (but) he was the reason why Viborg scored the first goal just before half-time.
“He made a penalty when he just ran into the attacking player.
“After that, he has played some good games and he scored his first goal in a draw against Aalborg where Vejle got their first point in the season.”
Vejle battling relegation from Danish Superliga
While Vejle have managed to accrue six points (one win and three draws) in the Superliga in the wake of their grim opening 10 matches, and still have five regular season fixtures, it has already been confirmed they will play in the relegation section when the Danish top-flight splits into a top and bottom six later in the campaign.
Denmark’s season runs on a traditional summer to summer calendar, unlike other Scandinavian countries.
A yo-yo club, owned by wantaway Moldovan Andrew Zolotko, Scram attributes Zejle’s struggles to cement their place in the Superliga to the fact “the club doesn’t have much money to buy players on longer contracts, so almost every player Vejle gets are on loan deals or short-term deals for one year – so every season they have a new team.”
After escaping the drop by finishing ninth last term, Vejle lost the likes of league top-scorer, German Onugkha – who moved to giants Copenhagen – as well as other key players.
‘There’s still a chance Vejle and Richard can make it a successful season’
Jensen was signed by Aberdeen in summer 2023 after the Dons paid Polish outfit Gornik Zabrze £400,000 for the stopper’s services, and he is still contracted to Aberdeen until summer 2026.
The Finland international played 35 times in all competitions for Aberdeen last season – including in Europa Conference League group matches against Eintracht Frankfurt, PAOK and boyhood club HJK Helsinki.
But new Reds gaffer Thelin signed left-sided centre-back Gavin Molloy in the summer and the young Irishman has been a mainstay of his Pittodrie side this term, with Jensen’s only game-time this term for the Dons coming late on in the Premier Sports Cup group victory at Lowland League team East Kilbride.
Scram reckons any prospect of Jensen remaining in Denmark, rather than returning to Aberdeen at the end of his loan, will naturally depend on the outcome of Vejle’s impending relegation battle and Jensen’s contribution to the fight before the Superliga campaign concludes in May.
He said: “Vejle will play against the five other teams at the bottom of the league – so there’s a lot of games where they play against the other relegation teams.
“So there’s still a chance for Vejle and Richard that they can make it a successful season.
“I think Richard’s situation and Vejle, it depends a lot on Oliver Provstgaard, the current captain, if he is in the club or not – because if he’s been sold in the January, I think there will be a lot of play-time for Richard.”
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