Mikkel Duelund
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mikkel Duelund Poulsen[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 29 June 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Aarhus, Denmark | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Vejle | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1999–200? | Virup IF | ||
| 200?–200? | VRI | ||
| 200?–2005 | HEI | ||
| 2005–2008 | Skovbakken | ||
| 2008–2011 | AGF | ||
| 2011–2014 | Midtjylland | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2018 | Midtjylland | 90 | (21) |
| 2018–2024 | Dynamo Kyiv | 21 | (1) |
| 2021–2023 | → NEC (loan) | 37 | (3) |
| 2023–2024 | → AGF (loan) | 29 | (3) |
| 2024–2025 | AGF | 7 | (0) |
| 2025– | Vejle | 15 | (3) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2012 | Denmark U16 | 1 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | Denmark U17 | 4 | (1) |
| 2014–2015 | Denmark U18 | 3 | (3) |
| 2015–2016 | Denmark U19 | 13 | (10) |
| 2016–2019 | Denmark U21 | 24 | (6) |
| 2018 | Denmark League XI | 1 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 10 December 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 22 October 2017 | |||
Mikkel Duelund Poulsen (born 29 June 1997) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Danish Superliga club Vejle Boldklub.
Early career
Duelund was born in Aarhus and started playing football at the age of two in Virup IF.[3] From the time he was two years old, until he was eight years old, he played first for Vejlby-Risskov Idrætsklub (VRI) and then for Hjortshøj-Egaa Idrætsforening (HEI).[3] At the age of eight, he moved to IK Skovbakken, where he played for three years.[3]
At the age of 11, Duelund joined the AGF academy; the most renowned in the city.[3] He subsequently had offers from several other clubs, but at the age of 14 he chose to move to FC Midtjylland.[3]
Midtjylland
Duelund began his professional career with Danish Superliga side FC Midtjylland. In 2013, he took part in a trial with Eredivisie club PSV Eindhoven but ultimately remained with Midtjylland's youth team.[4] During his time with the U19 group, Duelund won the Top Goalscorer and Player of the Season awards as the side were crowned Danish champions.[5] In 2014, he was named by The Guardian as one of 40 best young talents in World Football.[6]
Following his form at youth level Duelund was promoted to the first-team, making his league debut in March 2015 against Hobro IK, coming on as a second-half substitute for Petter Andersson. By the end of his debut season he had helped the club to its first ever Superliga title.[7] As a result of his showings in 2015 Duelund won the DBU U19 talent of the year-award.[8]
In the year that followed he made a goalscoring debut in the Champions League against Lincoln Red Imps before later debuting in the Europa League against Napoli.[5] In 2016–17, he became the seventh youngest player ever to score 10 career league goals in the Superliga.[7]
In March 2018, Duelund made his 100th appearance for Midtjylland and marked the occasion with a goal in a 2–1 win over Silkeborg.[9] The club ultimately went on to reclaim the Superliga title, ending ahead of rivals Brøndby.[10]
Dynamo Kyiv
On 31 August 2018, Duelund signed a contract with Ukrainian club Dynamo Kyiv.[11] He made his debut for the club on 16 September in a 1–1 away draw against Zorya Luhansk, coming on as a substitute in the 59th minute for Volodymyr Shepelyev.[12] In his third game, he scored his first goal for the club – the game-winner in a 1–0 away win over Arsenal Kyiv.[13][14]
However, he would only play sporadically. Within two months of his move, he suffered an ankle fracture which meant that he barely made any appearances for over a year and a half.[15][16] After recovering in February 2020, he mostly appeared as a substitute. During the 2020–21 season, Duelund made only four league appearances, of which one was in the starting lineup.[17] In November 2020, Duelund was one of multiple Dynamo players infected with SARS‑CoV‑2 during the COVID-19 pandemic.[18]
NEC (loan)
On 22 June 2021, recently promoted Dutch Eredivisie club NEC Nijmegen announced that they had signed Duelund on a one-season loan from Dynamo Kyiv with an option to buy.[19][20] He made his debut on 14 August in a 5–0 loss to defending champions Ajax.[21]
On 5 August 2022, the loan was extended by another season.[22] He started the 2022–23 season in convincing fashion, scoring once and adding two assists on the second matchday in a 4–1 victory against FC Volendam.[23]
On 29 January 2023 NEC confirmed, that Duelund's contract had been terminated by mutual agreement.[24]
AGF (loan)
Later on the same day which Duelund left NEC Nijmegen, Danish Superliga club AGF confirmed that Duelund had returned to the club, which he played for as a youth player, on a loan deal for the rest of the season.[25]
Vejle BK
On 17 June 2025 it was confirmed, that Dueland had joined Vejle Boldklub on a deal until June 2027.[26]
International career
In June 2017, Duelund was one of two 19-year-olds named in Denmark's squad for the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Poland.[7] He featured twice at the tournament, including a start in a 3–0 loss to eventual champions Germany, before Denmark were eliminated during the group stages.[27] He got his debut for the Denmark League XI side in a friendly against Jordan on 15 January 2018, where he scored one goal in Denmark's 2–3 loss.[28]
Personal life
In February 2016, ahead of the Midtjylland's Europa League game against Manchester United, Duelund stated he was a lifelong fan of the Premier League club and named Wayne Rooney as his footballing idol.[29]
