Kasper Aalund Junker (born 5 March 1994) is a Danish professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
who plays as a
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
*Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Smal ...
for
J1 League
The , the J.League or the for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Japan and the highest level of the Japanese football league system.
Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation ...
club
Nagoya Grampus
; formerly known as is a Japanese association football club that plays in the J1 League, and have for all but one season since the inauguration of the league, following promotion from the J2 League in 2017.
Based in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture an ...
.
Career
Early years
Junker started playing football as a four-year-old with local club Vinding SF before moving to the
Vejle Boldklub
Vejle Boldklub is a Danish professional football club based in Vejle in Jutland. Formed in 1891, the club is one of the most successful clubs in Danish football history, having won the Danish championship five times and the Danish cup title six ...
academy and from there on to
Kolding IF
Kolding Idræts Forening is an association football club based in Kolding, Denmark. The team competes in the Danish 1st Division, the second tier of the Danish football league system, after getting promotion at the end of the 2022–23 season. ...
. He joined Hessel Gods Fodboldkostskole (Hessel Gods Football Academy) in
tenth grade
Tenth grade (also 10th Grade or Grade 10) is the tenth year of formal or compulsory education. It is typically the second year of high school. In many parts of the world, students in tenth grade are usually 15 to 16 years of age.
Australia
In ...
, where he was coached by the likes of
Flemming Povlsen
Flemming Søgaard Povlsen (born 3 December 1966) is a Danish football pundit and former professional footballer who played as a striker. Born in Aarhus and a youth product of Viby IF, Povlsen also played in The Netherlands, Spain and Germany, u ...
and played for
FC Djursland
FC Djursland was an association football club based in the town of Grenaa, Denmark. The club was a merger established in Djursland in 2009, originally between five parent clubs: Grenaa IF, Østdjurs 91, AC Norddjurs, Åstrup/Hammelev IF and Kol ...
's team in the
Denmark Series
The Denmark Series () is the fifth tier in the Danish football league system. Teams are divided into four groups of ten. The top team in each following promotion group is promoted to the Danish 3rd Division. The bottom three teams in each group ...
. Junker was spotted by scouts of
Randers
Randers () is a city in Randers Municipality, Central Denmark Region on the Jutland peninsula. It is List of cities and towns in Denmark, Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 64,511 ().
Danish Superliga
The Danish Superliga (, ) is a professional association football league in Denmark and the highest level of the Danish football league system. The league is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams relegated. It is the current ...
debut for Randers as a substitute in the away match against
Vestsjælland
West Zealand County () is a former counties of Denmark, county (Danish language, Danish: ''Amt (subnational entity), amt'') in the west-central part of the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark. The county was f ...
on 7 March 2014, and contributed with an assist to
Kasper Fisker
Kasper Fisker Jensen (; born 22 May 1988) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Predominantly a central midfielder, Fisker started his career at local Superliga-side Randers FC before spending two seasons at Ski ...
's goal in the 1–1 draw. Junker also came on the pitch on 4 April when Randers beat AGF 1–0 in
Aarhus
Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...
.
In the summer of 2014, he signed a full-time contract with Randers, and was thus promoted to the first team and became a professional. In January 2015, he was sent on a six-month loan to second-tier
Danish 1st Division
The 1st Division (''1. Division'') is the second-highest football league in Denmark, also known as NordicBet Liga for sponsorship reasons. From 1945 to 1991, the 1. Division was the name of the highest level of football in Denmark. With the for ...
club
Fredericia
Fredericia () is a town located in Fredericia Municipality in the southeastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark. The city is part of the Triangle Region Denmark, Triangle Region, which includes the neighbouring cities of Kolding and Vej ...
, but failed to make an appearance.
AGF
In the summer of 2016, Junker signed a three-year contract with Randers' Superliga rivals to the south, AGF, where he began the season as a starter due to Morten "Duncan" Rasmussen's injury in a pre-season match.
Horsens
On the last day of the transfer window, 31 August 2018, Junker signed with
AC Horsens
Alliance Club Horsens (), commonly referred to as AC Horsens () or simply Horsens, is a Danish professional football club based in Horsens, Central Denmark Region. Founded in 1994, as a superstructure on Horsens fS (founded 1915), Stensballe ...
on a five-year contract for an undisclosed fee. However, the Horsens stated that it was a record transfer fee for the club.
Norway
On 9 August 2019, Junker was loaned out to Norwegian club Stabæk from Horsens for the rest of 2019 with an option to buy. On 17 December 2019, he signed a three-year contract with Norwegian club Bodø/Glimt from 1 January 2020.
Japan
In April 2021 he was sold to Japanese club
Urawa Red Diamonds
The or simply Urawa Reds (浦和レッズ, ''Urawa Rezzu''), also known as Mitsubishi Urawa Football Club from April 1992 to January 1996, are a professional association football, football club in the city of Saitama (city), Saitama, part of t ...
. On 5 January 2023,
Nagoya Grampus
; formerly known as is a Japanese association football club that plays in the J1 League, and have for all but one season since the inauguration of the league, following promotion from the J2 League in 2017.
Based in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture an ...
announced the signing of Junker on loan from Urawa Red Diamonds for the season. On 5 January 2023, fellow
J1 League
The , the J.League or the for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Japan and the highest level of the Japanese football league system.
Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation ...
club
Nagoya Grampus
; formerly known as is a Japanese association football club that plays in the J1 League, and have for all but one season since the inauguration of the league, following promotion from the J2 League in 2017.
Based in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture an ...
announced the signing of Junker on loan for the 2023 season. At the end of the campaign, he left Urawa following the expiration of his contract, and subsequently joined Nagoya Grampus on a free transfer for the 2024 season.
Career statistics
Honours
Club
Bodø/Glimt
*
Eliteserien
Eliteserien () is a professional association football league in Norway and the highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Norwegian First Division ...
:
2020
The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
Urawa Red Diamonds
*
Emperor's Cup
, commonly known as or Japan FA Cup, and rebranded as The JFA Emperor's Cup from 2024 onwards, is a Japanese annual football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football tournament in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formatio ...
:
2021
Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
*
AFC Champions League
The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...
:
2022
The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
Nagoya Grampus
*
J.League Cup
The is a Japanese Association football, football (soccer) competition organised by J.League, the men's association football league in Japan. It has been sponsored by Yamazaki Biscuits (YBC) of Yamazaki Baking (formerly Yamazaki Nabisco) since it ...
:
2024
The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...
2020
The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...