Christian Gytkjær
Danish footballer (born 1990)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Christian Lund Gytkjær (Danish pronunciation: [ˈkytˌkʰeˀɐ̯]; born 6 May 1990) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie C Group C club Bari.
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Gytkjær with Lech Poznań in 2017 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Christian Lund Gytkjær | ||
| Date of birth | 6 May 1990 | ||
| Place of birth | Roskilde, Denmark[1] | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Bari | ||
| Number | 9 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Roskilde | |||
| Jyllinge FC | |||
| 2005–2008 | Lyngby | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2008–2010 | Lyngby | 34 | (10) |
| 2010–2013 | Nordsjælland | 24 | (3) |
| 2012 | → Akademisk Boldklub (loan) | 12 | (6) |
| 2012 | → Sandnes Ulf (loan) | 12 | (8) |
| 2013–2016 | Haugesund | 81 | (36) |
| 2016–2017 | Rosenborg | 28 | (19) |
| 2017 | 1860 Munich | 15 | (2) |
| 2017–2020 | Lech Poznań | 102 | (55) |
| 2020–2023 | Monza | 77 | (16) |
| 2023–2025 | Venezia | 67 | (13) |
| 2025– | Bari | 25 | (3) |
| International career | |||
| 2006 | Denmark U16 | 1 | (0) |
| 2006 | Denmark U17 | 6 | (4) |
| 2007–2008 | Denmark U18 | 3 | (0) |
| 2008–2009 | Denmark U19 | 10 | (2) |
| 2009–2011 | Denmark U20 | 5 | (2) |
| 2011 | Denmark U20 | 1 | (0) |
| 2016–2019 | Denmark | 9 | (5) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 12 May 2026 | |||
Early life
Christian Gytkjær started his youth career playing for Roskilde, before moving on to Lyngby in 2005.[3] In October 2007, he was invited for a trial at Liverpool in England with his brother, Frederik, ultimately nothing materialized from the visit.[4] Gytkjær went on to be Lyngby's top scorer in 2007–08 for the under-18 side.[3]
Club career
Lyngby Boldklub
Gytkjær was called up to the Lyngby first team in the middle of 2008, signing a new contract keeping him at the club until 2010.[3] He scored three goals in eight appearances in his debut season in the 1st Division.[citation needed] By the 2009–10 campaign, Gytkjær had become one of Lyngby's most anticipated talents to come through their youth system.[5]
On 2 February 2010, it was confirmed Gytkjær would leave Lyngby when his contract expired in the summer to join Danish Cup winners Nordsjælland on a free transfer, signing a three-year contract,[6] following in the footsteps of Andreas Bjelland, Andreas Laudrup and Morten Nordstrand, who had left Lyngby for the Farum-based club. While his future had been set, Gytkjær was still to play out the remainder of the 2009–10 season with Lyngby, where he was targeted by the supporters who disapproved in seeing another player their team had nurtured head over to neighboring rivals. The backlash was only increased when the player was photographed with an FCN shirt while still under contract to Lyngby.[7]
Nordsjælland
Gytkjær made his debut for Nordsjælland in a 2–0 away defeat to Superliga champions Copenhagen on 14 August 2010, when he was brought into the team to replace Nicki Bille Nielsen, who was sold to Villarreal.[8] In 2012, he was loaned out to Akademisk Boldklub (AB) and Sandnes Ulf.[9]
Haugesund
On 23 January 2013, Gytkjær joined Norwegian side Haugesund by signing a four-year contract.[10]
Rosenborg
On 6 January 2016, Gytkjær signed for fellow Norwegian club Rosenborg on a three-year deal.[11] In his debut season, he achieved the domestic double, and became the league's top scorer with 19 goals.[12]
1860 Munich
On 27 January 2017, Gytkjær joined German club 1860 Munich by signing a contract until 2019.[13]
Lech Poznań
On 28 June 2017, Gytkjær signed a two-year contract with Ekstraklasa side Lech Poznań, with the option for an extra 12 months.[14] He made his debut for the club during the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League second qualifying round away game against FK Haugesund, which Lech lost 3–2.[15] He scored his first two goals for Lech in a 5–1 home win over Piast Gliwice in the third round of the 2017–18 season.[16]
On 7 March 2019, Gytkjær signed a contract extension, running until the end of the 2019–20 season.[17] On 19 July 2020, in his last game for Lech, Gytkjær scored twice in a 4–0 home win against Jagiellonia Białystok and led the team to secure second place in the 2019–20 season.[18][19] He finished the campaign as the top scorer with 24 goals, and won the Ekstraklasa Forward of the Season award.[20]
In total, Gytkjær scored 65 goals for Lech in 119 appearances, which made him the all-time highest foreign goalscorer in the club's history,[21] until his tally was surpassed by Mikael Ishak in 2024.[22]
Monza
On 22 July 2020, Gytkjær joined newly promoted Serie B side Monza on a free transfer, signing a two-year contract with the option of a third.[23] He made his debut on 3 October against Empoli, and scored his first goal on 31 October, converting a penalty kick against Cittadella.[24] He renewed his expiring contract in February 2022 for one year.[25]
With five goals in four 2021–22 Serie B promotion play-off games – including three goals in two final games against Pisa – Gytkjær helped Monza gain promotion to the Serie A for the first time in their history, and was awarded the play-off MVP award.[26] He made his Serie A debut on 13 August 2022, as a substitute in a 2–1 home defeat to Torino.[27] On 18 September, Gytkjær came on as a substitute and scored in an upset 1–0 win against Italian giants Juventus; it was Monza's first-ever Serie A win.[28]
Venezia
On 20 July 2023, Gytkjær joined Italian side Venezia as a free agent for two seasons.[29] On 2 June 2024, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Cremonese in the promotion playoffs final, securing his club's promotion to Serie A.[30]
Bari
On 12 July 2025, Gytkjær signed a one-season contract with Bari.[31]
International career
Gytkjær was part of the Denmark under-17 team that won the 2006 Nordic Championship in the Faroe Islands. He scored three goals in a 4–0 win over England in the final.[32]
Personal life
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 25 May 2025[35]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Lyngby | 2008–09 | Danish 1st Division | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 3 | ||
| 2009–10 | Danish 1st Division | 26 | 7 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 7 | |||
| Total | 34 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 10 | ||
| Nordsjælland | 2010–11 | Danish Superliga | 19 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 21 | 3 | |
| 2011–12 | Danish Superliga | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 6 | 1 | |||
| 2012–13 | Danish Superliga | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 2 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 26 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 5 | ||
| Akademisk Boldklub (loan) | 2011–12 | Danish 1st Division | 12 | 6 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 6 | ||
| Sandnes Ulf (loan) | 2012 | Tippeligaen | 12 | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[b] | 3 | 14 | 11 | |
| Haugesund | 2013 | Tippeligaen | 25 | 11 | 3 | 4 | — | — | 28 | 15 | ||
| 2014 | Tippeligaen | 26 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 2[c] | 0 | — | 31 | 16 | ||
| 2015 | Tippeligaen | 30 | 10 | 2 | 3 | — | — | 32 | 13 | |||
| Total | 81 | 36 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 91 | 44 | ||
| Rosenborg | 2016 | Tippeligaen | 28 | 19 | 5 | 1 | 6[d] | 3 | — | 39 | 23 | |
| 1860 Munich | 2016–17 | 2. Bundesliga | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[e] | 0 | 18 | 2 | |
| Lech Poznań | 2017–18[36] | Ekstraklasa | 37 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 4[c] | 2 | — | 42 | 21 | |
| 2018–19[37] | Ekstraklasa | 31 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 6[c] | 5 | — | 39 | 17 | ||
| 2019–20[38] | Ekstraklasa | 34 | 24 | 4 | 3 | — | — | 38 | 27 | |||
| Total | 102 | 55 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 119 | 65 | ||
| Monza | 2020–21 | Serie B | 22 | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[f] | 0 | 24 | 6 | |
| 2021–22 | Serie B | 33 | 9 | 1 | 0 | — | 4[f] | 5 | 38 | 14 | ||
| 2022–23 | Serie A | 22 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 23 | 2 | |||
| Total | 77 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 85 | 22 | ||
| Venezia | 2023–24 | Serie B | 38 | 11 | 1 | 1 | — | 4[f] | 1 | 43 | 13 | |
| 2024–25 | Serie A | 29 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 2 | |||
| Total | 67 | 13 | 2 | 1 | — | 4 | 1 | 73 | 15 | |||
| Career total | 454 | 169 | 31 | 15 | 18 | 10 | 13 | 9 | 516 | 201 | ||
- Includes the Danish Cup, Norwegian Football Cup, DFB-Pokal, Polish Cup
- Appearances in Tippeligaen relegation play-offs
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Four appearances two goals in UEFA Champions League, two appearances one goal in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in 2. Bundesliga promotion play-offs
- Appearance(s) in Serie B promotion play-offs
International
- As of match played 15 November 2019[39]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denmark | 2016 | 1 | 0 |
| 2018 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 6 | 5 | |
| Total | 9 | 5 | |
- Scores and results list Denmark's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Gytkjær goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 March 2019 | St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland |  Switzerland |
2–3 | 3–3 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualification | [40] |
| 2 | 5 September 2019 | Victoria Stadium, Gibraltar |  Gibraltar |
5–0 | 6–0 | [41] | |
| 3 | 6–0 | ||||||
| 4 | 15 October 2019 | Aalborg Stadium, Aalborg, Denmark |  Luxembourg |
4–0 | 4–0 | Friendly | [42] |
| 5 | 15 November 2019 | Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark | Gibraltar |
2–0 | 6–0 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualification | [43] |
Honours
Nordsjælland
Rosenborg
Venezia
Denmark U17
- Nordic Championship: 2006
Individual
- Tippeligaen top scorer: 2016
- Ekstraklasa top scorer: 2019–20
- Tippeligaen Striker of the Year: 2016
- Ekstraklasa Forward of the Season: 2019–20[47]
- Ekstraklasa Player of the Month: March 2018,[48] July 2020[49]
- Serie B play-offs MVP: 2021–22[26]
