Christian Nørgaard is a product of the Lyngby youth system back in his native Denmark, for whom he made one senior appearance before rejecting reported interest from AC Milan and Hoffenheim to sign for Hamburg in January 2012.

He struggled to settle in Germany, though, and returned home after one season to join Brøndby, where he spent the next five seasons and established himself as a cult hero, winning the Danish Cup in 2017/18.

Norgaard moved on to Fiorentina in the summer of 2018 but made just six appearances in his one and only season in Italy.

That allowed Brentford to swoop in and take him off the Serie A club’s hands, with the Dane signing a four-year deal, with the option of a further 12 months, in May 2019, which reunited him with his former Brøndby head coach Thomas Frank.

An exemplary first season saw him rewarded with another, fresh four-year deal, again with the option of a further 12 months, in September 2020, shortly before he made his senior Denmark debut.

He was forced on to the sidelines with an ankle injury just four games into 2020/21, but returned to play an important role in Brentford’s promotion to the Premier League, by featuring in 13 of the last 14 Championship games.

He was included in Denmark’s Euro 2020 squad and made five appearances as the Danes reached the semi-final.

In the Bees’ maiden Premier League season, Nørgaard was one of their best – and most important – players. He started all 35 of the games he was involved in as they finished impressively in 13th and there was little surprise when, in December 2021, he signed a further contract extension until the summer of 2025, with an option to extend by 12 months.

Again, however, he was struck by injury, this time an Achilles issue, the following season, which restricted him to only 23 appearances. Nørgaard did make it into the 2022 World Cup squad, though, and made one appearance in Qatar.

“This last block of games has been one of the best times in my football life, especially coming off a very difficult period before that,” he said in an interview in February 2023.

“I feel at home in Brentford, and I feel at home in the league. I am developing, and I can perform, and that’s just what you want as a player.”

After Pontus Jansson left to return to Malmö in the summer of 2023, Nørgaard was appointed Brentford captain.

He played 26 of the first 28 Premier League matches, but missed a month between mid-March and mid-April with a back injury, which compounded Brentford’s injury struggles.

He returned for the final five matches and was included in Denmark’s Euro 2024 squad, where he appeared three times from the bench, including an eight-minute cameo in the 1-1 draw with England.

In March 2025 - midway through a season in which he featured 35 times and scored an impressive six times from holding midfield - the Bees skipper signed a new contract, which runs until the summer of 2027.