Brentford’s Denmark Under-21 international midfield player Mads Bidstrup has signed a new contract before completing a season-long loan to FC Nordsjælland. The 21-year-old signed a new deal that will run until the summer of 2024 and Brentford FC have an option for an additional two years. Mads will now join Nordsjælland for the duration of the 2022/23 campaign.

Mads has just completed a successful loan with the Danish side. He spent the second half of the 2021/22 campaign with the Superliga club – managed by former Brentford coach Flemming Pedersen – and played 13 games for them, 12 of them from the start. The Superliga season starts on the weekend of Saturday 15 July and Nordsjælland have their first game on Monday 18 July.

Thomas Frank, Brentford FC Head Coach, said: “I am very pleased that we have extended Mads’ contract. He is a player with great potential, and it is up to us and him that it is maximised. He is a player with a lot of strengths that will continue to develop in the coming years.

“His pressing is from another world. He covers the pitch superbly and is very aggressive. That fits perfectly with our style. He can play as either a ‘number six’ or ‘number eight’ and in the long term I think he will be a six. He closes everything down defensively and has great acceleration so he can drive past players.

“Mads is a top character. His mentality and determination to do his best on the training pitch every day is incredible. He is a player that we need to hold back sometimes. For Mads’ long-term development, it is great that he will go to FC Nordsjælland for the season. That is the next step for him, to play games every week. We look forward to watching him develop this season.”

Mads has been with Brentford for the past two years after joining from RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V., more commonly known as RB Leipzig, in the summer of 2020. He spent his first season with The Bees as part of the Brentford B group and was promoted to the First Team squad last summer. This came after he made his Brentford debut against Preston North End in April 2021.

The midfielder spent the early days of his career with FC Copenhagen before joining Leipzig’s youth setup at the age of 16. He represented the Under-17 side before progressing to the Under-19 group. During his time in Germany, he featured in the UEFA Youth League, coming up against the likes of Zenit St Petersburg, Benfica and Olympique Lyon during the 2019/20 campaign. He made the switch to West London before the start of the 2020/21 campaign.

Mads’ first season with The Bees was interrupted by a knee injury but he progressed to the First Team group. Mads played six times for Brentford in 2020/21 and was on the pitch at the final whistle when The Bees won promotion to the Premier League, beating Swansea City in the Play-Off Final. He made eight further appearances last term, including four as a substitute in the Premier League.

Mads has won caps for Denmark at Under-16, Under-17, Under-18 and Under-19 level and broke in to the Under-21 squad this season. He made his Denmark Under-21 debut last September and has eight caps at that level. He has played 30 games for his country in total.