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Mark Flekken
	Flekken with Greuther Fürth in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Mark Flekken
Date of birth	13 June 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth	Kerkrade, Netherlands
Height	1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Brentford
Number	1
Youth career
	WDZ
0000–2009	Roda JC
2009–2012	Alemannia Aachen
Senior career*
Years	Team
2012–2013	Alemannia Aachen
2013–2016	Greuther Fürth
2013–2016	Greuther Fürth II
2016–2018	MSV Duisburg
2018–2023	SC Freiburg
2021	SC Freiburg II
2023–	Brentford
International career‡
2022–	Netherlands
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:06, 1 January 2025 (UTC); ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 November 2024

Mark Flekken (born 13 June 1993) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Brentford and the Netherlands national team.

Early years

Flekken grew up in Bocholtz, Limburg, Netherlands on the German border.^[2] His parents René and Annie used to play football themselves, and his younger brother Roy also became a goalkeeper.^[3]

Club career

Alemannia Aachen and Greuther Fürth

Flekken started his career in the youth department of RKVV WDZ from Bocholtz before moving to the youth academy of Roda JC Kerkrade. In 2009, he moved across the border to the youth teams of the then 2. Bundesliga club Alemannia Aachen. On 22 September 2011, he signed his first professional contract.^[4]

During the winter break of the 2012–13 3. Liga season, Flekken was appointed as the starting goalkeeper by coach René van Eck after the financially troubled club had parted ways with Michael Melka.^[5]^[2] Flekken made his debut on 26 January 2013 in a 2–0 home game against 1. FC Saarbrücken.^[6]

Ahead of the 2013–14 season, Flekken moved to the 2. Bundesliga club SpVgg Greuther Fürth.^[7] There, he only made three league appearances in three years as a backup goalkeeper behind Wolfgang Hesl and Sebastian Mielitz.^[1]

MSV Duisburg

Flekken signed for MSV Duisburg on 12 June 2016.^[8] On 7 August 2016, he scored a goal, after a corner, in a 1–1 draw against VfL Osnabrück, when he went to the opposite box during the last minute.^[9] In February 2018, Flekken conceded a goal in a 2. Bundesliga match against FC Ingolstadt, when he turned his back on the play to take a drink from his water bottle.^[10]^[11]

SC Freiburg

Flekken joined SC Freiburg for the 2018–19 season.^[12] A backup to Alexander Schwolow throughout the season, he made his debut in the final matchday of the 2018–19 season against 1. FC Nürnberg.^[13] After Schwolow's departure before the start of the 2020–21 season, he was appointed the new starter, but shortly after he suffered a complicated elbow injury while warming up for the DFB-Pokal match against SV Waldhof Mannheim which sidelined him for the entire season.^[14] Meanwhile, he was replaced in goal by Florian Müller, who was on loan from Mainz 05. He returned as the starter in goal on 9 May 2021; before that he had regained match practice with the Freiburg reserves in the Regionalliga Südwest.^[15]

Flekken started the 2021–22 season as the undisputed first-choice goalkeeper and, after ten games in a row without defeat, saw the team in third place of the league, to which he had contributed with the league's best rate of shots saved.^[16]

Brentford

On 31 May 2023, Flekken signed for Premier League club Brentford for a reported fee of £11 million.^[17]

International career

Flekken was called up to the senior Netherlands national team squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Montenegro and Norway on 13 and 16 November 2021, respectively.^[18]

Flekken made his international debut for the Netherlands on 26 March 2022 in a friendly match against Denmark.^[19]

On 29 May 2024, Flekken was named in the Netherlands' squad for UEFA Euro 2024.^[20]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 1 January 2025^[21]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			National cup^[a]		League cup^[b]		Europe		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Alemannia Aachen	2012–13	3. Liga	15	0	—		—		—		15	0
Greuther Fürth II	2013–14	Regionalliga Bayern	14	0	—		—		—		14	0
	2014–15		3	0	—		—		—		3	0
	2015–16		8	0	—		—		—		8	0
	Total		25	0	—		—		—		25	0
Greuther Fürth	2014–15	2. Bundesliga	2	0	0	0	—		—		2	0
	2015–16	2. Bundesliga	1	0	1	0	—		—		2	0
	Total		3	0	1	0	—		—		4	0
MSV Duisburg	2016–17	3. Liga	37	1	1	0	—		—		38	1
	2017–18	2. Bundesliga	31	0	1	0	—		—		32	0
	Total		68	1	2	0	—		—		70	1
SC Freiburg	2018–19	Bundesliga	1	0	0	0	—		—		1	0
	2019–20		10	0	1	0	—		—		11	0
	2020–21		3	0	1	0	—		—		4	0
	2021–22		32	0	5	0	—		—		37	0
	2022–23		34	0	3	0	—		7^[c]	0	44	0
	Total		80	0	10	0	—		7	0	97	0
SC Freiburg II	2020–21	Regionalliga Südwest	3	0	—		—		—		3	0
Brentford	2023–24	Premier League	37	0	0	0	1	0	—		38	0
	2024–25	Premier League	19	0	0	0	2	0	—		21	0
	Total		56	0	0	0	3	0	—		59	0
Career total			250	1	13	0	3	0	7	0	273	1