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Jeppe Højbjerg
	Højbjerg in 2016
Personal information
Date of birth	30 April 1995 (age 29)
Place of birth	Esbjerg, Denmark
Height	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Youth career
2001–2009	Sønderris SK
2009–2013	Esbjerg
Senior career*
Years	Team
2013–2022	Esbjerg
2015	→ Fredericia (loan)
2022	Fremad Amager
2023	Fredericia
International career
2012	Denmark U17
2012	Denmark U18
2013–2014	Denmark U19
2014	Denmark U20
2015–2017	Denmark U21
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 1 January 2024

Jeppe Højbjerg (born 30 April 1995) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper.^[2]

Club career

Højbjerg started his career at childhood club Sønderris SK, before moving to Esbjerg fB in 2009, where he was initially an outfield player. However, he was on incidentally moved to the goalkeeper position at practice, and remained at there since.^[1] In October 2012, he went on trial with English Premier League club Everton, with the club offering him a youth contract afterwards. Højbjerg, however, chose to stay at Esbjerg in order to gain first-team experience.^[3]

He made his professional debut on 26 September 2013, in a Danish Cup match, where he started in a 7–1 win over lower league side Aalborg Chang.^[4]

On 16 January 2015, Højbjerg was sent on a six-month loan to Danish 1st Division club FC Fredericia, in order to gain more first-team experience. Until then he had mainly acted as a backup goalkeeper to starter Martin Dúbravka.^[5] The loan deal was extended another six months in July 2015.^[6]

After returning from the loan spell, Højbjerg became the Esbjerg starting goalkeeper in the second half of the 2015–16 season. He made his Danish Superliga debut for the club on 28 February 2016 away against FC Copenhagen at Parken Stadium.^[7]

Since first goalkeeper Jacob Pryts Larsen and reserve goalkeeper Oliver Funch had been injured, Danish 1st Division club Fremad Amager confirmed on 15 October that they had signed a short contract with Højbjerg for the rest of 2022.^[8] Højbjerg stood without a club for 10 months, until signing a short-term deal on 29 September 2023 with his former club, FC Fredericia: a deal until the end of 2023.^[9] He left FC Fredericia at the end of 2023.^[10]

International career

Højbjerg has been capped for various Danish national youth teams. In 2016, he competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics with the Denmark Olympic team, which reached the quarter-finals. He made four appearances in the Olympic tournament, conceding a total of six goals. Denmark recorded only one win, against South Africa.^[11]

On 3 September 2015, he made his first appearance for the Denmark national under-21 team in a friendly against Germany, which ended in a 2–1 defeat. He participated with the U21 team at the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. He played three matches in this tournament, conceding a total of seven goals. Denmark recorded only one win, against the Czech Republic.^[12]

References

^ ^a ^b Jørgensen, Stefan (4 August 2016). "Markspilleren fra Sønderris blev OL-målmand". TV Syd (in Danish). Retrieved 28 October 2020.
^ Jeppe Højbjerg at Soccerway. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
^ Houlind, Søren. "Esbjerg-talent imponerede i Everton". bold.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 28 October 2020.
^ "Jeppe Højbjerg: Det lærte jeg af Mannone". JydskeVestkysten (in Danish). 30 August 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020. Jeppe Højbjerg debuterede i en pokalkamp mod Aalborg Chang 26. september 2013.
^ Kongerslev Nygaard, Jonas (16 January 2015). "Esbjerg udlejer talentfuld reservekeeper". Tipsbladet (in Danish). Retrieved 28 October 2020.
^ Blond, Mikael (9 July 2015). "Esbjerg vil igen udleje fremtidens keeper". bold.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 28 October 2020.
^ "Spillerprofil - Jeppe Højbjerg - EfB". efb.dk (in Danish). Esbjerg fB. Retrieved 28 October 2020. Jeppe Højbjerg Superliga-debuterede d. 28. februar 2016 i Parken mod FC København.
^ ROBUST MÅLMAND SKRIVER KORTTIDS KONTRAKT MED FREMAD, fremadamagerelite.dk, 15 October 2022
^ FC Fredericia skriver kontrakt med Jeppe Højbjerg, fcfredericia.dk, 29 September 2023
^ FC Fredericia henter landsholdskeeper, bold.dk, 8 December 2023
^ "Danmark fik smal sejr over Sydafrika ved OL". TV3 Sport (in Danish). 8 August 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
^ Sauermilch, Jonas (24 June 2017). "Minut for minut: Ustyrlige Zohore sikrer Danmark farvel-sejr ved EM". TV 2 (in Danish). Retrieved 28 October 2020.