Kevin Danso (born 19 September 1998) is an Austrian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, on loan from Ligue 1 club Lens, and the Austria national team.
Formerly a youth international at various levels from under-15 to under-21, Danso made his debut for the Austria senior team in 2017.
Early life
Danso was born in Austria to Ghanaian parents before moving to Milton Keynes in England at the age of six.[2]
Club career
Early years
Danso joined the academy of Milton Keynes Dons at under 9 level having previously been a striker in the Reading academy,[3][2][4][5] staying at the club until 2014 before moving to FC Augsburg in Germany.[6][7]
FC Augsburg
On 3 March 2017, Danso made his Bundesliga debut for FC Augsburg at the age of 18 years and 165 days old, becoming the youngest player to make a league appearance in the club's history.[8][9] A week later, he signed a new four-year contract with the club.[10]
Southampton loan
On 9 August 2019, the day after the Premier League transfer window closed, it was announced that Danso signed for Southampton on a one-year loan, with the option to buy at the end of the 2019–20 season.[11]
Fortuna Düsseldorf loan
On 18 August 2020 he went to Fortuna Düsseldorf on loan.[12][13] He left Fortuna upon the expiration of his contract on 24 May 2021.[14]
Lens
On 6 August 2021, Danso joined Ligue 1 side RC Lens.[15] On 19 March 2022, he scored his first goal with Lens against Clermont.[16] During the 2022–23 season, he played a crucial role in helping his team secure second place in the league and qualify for the following season's Champions League.[17]
Tottenham Hotspur (loan)
On 2 February 2025, Danso joined Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur on loan for the remainder of the season with an obligation to buy at the end of the season.[18] He made his first appearance for Spurs on 6 February in a 4–0 defeat away to Liverpool in the EFL Cup semi-final.[19]
International career
Danso was eligible to represent Ghana or Austria internationally.[20][21] He represented Austria's U15, U16, U17, Austria U18, and U19 youth teams.
In May 2017, he received his first call-up to the senior national team.[9] In June 2024, he was named in the Austrian squad for the UEFA Euro 2024.[22]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 6 February 2025[23]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| FC Augsburg II | 2015–16[24] | Regionalliga Bayern | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2[c] | 1 | 4 | 1 | |||
| 2017–18[24] | Regionalliga Bayern | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 1 | 7 | 1 | |||||
| FC Augsburg | 2016–17[24] | Bundesliga | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | |||
| 2017–18[24] | Bundesliga | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 16 | 2 | ||||
| 2018–19[24] | Bundesliga | 18 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 21 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 41 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 44 | 3 | |||||
| Southampton (loan) | 2019–20[25] | Premier League | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | ||
| Fortuna Düsseldorf (loan) | 2020–21[24] | 2. Bundesliga | 32 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 33 | 2 | |||
| Total | 38 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 43 | 2 | ||||
| Lens | 2021–22 | Ligue 1 | 33 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 36 | 2 | |||
| 2022–23 | Ligue 1 | 37 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 38 | 1 | ||||
| 2023–24 | Ligue 1 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 7[d] | 0 | — | 38 | 1 | |||
| 2024–25 | Ligue 1 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[e] | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | |||
| Total | 112 | 4 | 6 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | — | 126 | 4 | ||||
| Tottenham Hotspur (loan) | 2024–25[26] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| Career total | 196 | 9 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 221 | 10 | ||
- ^ Includes DFB-Pokal, FA Cup, Coupe de France
- ^ Includes EFL Cup
- ^ Appearances in Regionalliga relegation play-offs
- ^ Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Appearance in UEFA Europa League
International
- As of match played 14 November 2024[27]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | 2017 | 5 | 0 |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 8 | 0 | |
| Total | 24 | 0 | |
Honours
Individual
- UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2022–23[28]
References
- ^ "2024/25 Updated Premier League squad lists". Premier League. 7 February 2025. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
- ^ a b "England scouts urged to check Augsburg whizkid Kevin Danso". tribalfootball.com. Archived from the original on 9 March 2017.
- ^ "Danso ließ England-Karriere sausen". Bild.de. 7 March 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
- ^ "Jadon Sancho, Ademola Lookman: Why Premier League youngsters are choosing the Bundesliga". Sky Sports. 27 February 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
- ^ "Kevin Danso: Alli's friend, Batshuayi's foe, Augsburg's Austrian wonderkid". bundesliga.com. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- ^ "Kevin Danso". football-wonderkids.co.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
- ^ Frimpong, El Akyereko (9 May 2015). "Kevin Danso: Austria U17 coach says Ghanaian midfielder is irreplaceable in his squad". Ghanasoccernet. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
- ^ Langner, Wolfgang (4 March 2017). "Kevin Danso ist nach seinem Debüt ein gefragter Mann". Augsburger Allgemeine (in German). Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- ^ a b "Baum über Danso: "Es ist eine Sensation"" (in German). 24 May 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- ^ Yeboah, Thomas Freeman (10 March 2017). "Ghanaian youngster signs 4-year deal with Bundesliga side Augsburg". Pulse Ghana. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- ^ "Kevin Danso: Southampton sign defender on loan from Augsburg". BBC Sport. 9 August 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- ^ "FCA verleiht Kevin Danso nach Düsseldorf". FC Augsburg (in German). Retrieved 19 August 2020.
- ^ "Fortuna leiht Innenverteidiger Kevin Danso aus". Fortuna Düsseldorf 1895 (in German). Retrieved 19 August 2020.
- ^ "SAISONAUSKLANG IM KREISE DER MANNSCHAFT" (in German). Fortuna Düsseldorf. 24 May 2021.
- ^ "Kevin Danso, de la puissance en defense !" (in French). 6 August 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- ^ "Lens vs. Clermont". Soccerway. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
- ^ Riley, Martha (17 June 2024). "Kevin Danso had tough time at Southampton but Rio Ferdinand has tipped Austria Euro 2024 star for Manchester United rebuild". talkSPORT.
- ^ "Tottenham sign Kevin Danso from Lens to boost injury hit squad". ESPN. 2 February 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
- ^ Anderson, Jess (6 February 2025). "Liverpool 4 Tottenham Hotspur 0". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
- ^ "England handlers to swoop for Augsburg's Ghanaian whizkid Kevin Danso". GhanaSoccernet. 8 March 2017.
- ^ "Youngster Kevin Danso picks Austria over Ghana". Ghana Web. 4 July 2016.
- ^ "Nationalteam-Kader für UEFA EURO 2024 fixiert" [Final national team squad for UEFA EURO 2024] (in German). Austrian Football Association. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ "K. Danso". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f "Kevin Danso – Player profile". dfb.de. Deutscher Fußball-Bund. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- ^ "Games played by Kevin Danso in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ "Games played by Kevin Danso in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
- ^ "Danso, Kevin". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- ^ "Messi, Rongier, Danso... L'équipe type de la saison de Ligue 1". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 29 May 2023.
External links
- Kevin Danso at WorldFootball.net
- Kevin Danso – French league stats at Ligue 1 – also available in French (archived)
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