Nicklas Helenius Jensen (born 8 May 1991) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Danish 1st Division club AaB.
Club career
Aalborg BK Helenius joined the Aalborg BK youth squad at the age of 13 and received his first contract while in the U19 squad. In the 2009–10 season, he became the top goalscorer of the Aalborg BK under-19 squad in the Danish under-19 league with 22 goals. This was enough for him to finish second on the overall goal scorer list, only beaten by Brent McGrath who scored 29 goals for Brøndby IF.U-19 Drenge Ligaen (2010) - Topscorerliste Dansk Boldspil-Union
After the 2009–10 season, he made his professional football debut for Aalborg BK on 16 May 2010 against HB Køge. Helenius scored his first goal for Aalborg BK in the Danish Superliga on 10 September 2010 against AC Horsens and got his first breakthrough in the AaB lineup after scoring a total of four goals in four consecutive league games and one goal in the Danish Cup in October and November 2010.
Following the 2012–13 season, he was selected as player of the season in the Danish Superliga on the UEFA website.
A popular chant amongst the AaB supporters was "vi elsker vold og kokain – og Nicklas Helenius", directly translated to "we love violence and cocaine – and Nicklas Helenius", as a sarcastic reference to the hooligan culture. The chant was based on the tune Eviva Espana.
Aston Villa On 18 June 2013, Helenius signed for Aston Villa on a three-year deal believed to be in the region of £1.2m. He scored a header on his debut in Villa's first pre-season game of the season, against German team SV Rödinghausen. He followed this up with another headed goal against VfL Bochum on his second appearance for the club. He made his Premier League debut on 24 August 2013 at Villa Park against Liverpool which ended in a 1–0 defeat. Helenius scored his first goal for the club on 4 January 2014 against Sheffield United in an FA Cup third round tie at Villa Park. Helenius gained notoriety when he got his shorts pulled down by Jan Vertonghen in a game against Tottenham Hotspur, revealing his briefs.
After only three league games for Aston Villa in the first half season, Helenius was expected to leave the club. Helenius failed to become a regular part of the match day squad and would often not even be included. With a lack of interest from suitable buyers he found himself seeing the season out in the sidelines, only making one appearance in the 2014 campaign in an FA Cup game against Sheffield United F.C where he also scored his only goal for Aston Villa. Helenius' agent revealed in May 2014, that Helenius was not a part of Aston Villa's future plans and therefore had to leave the club.Agent: Villa dropper Helenius, bold.dk, 19 May 2014 Helenius revealed that a reason behind his struggles were a bacterial infection and an addiction to sleeping pills. Helenius had many clubs interested, like IFK Göteborg and AaB. Aston Villa also rejected a bid from IFK Göteborg.IFK fik Helenius-bud afvist af Villa, bold.dk, 3 July 2014
Loan to AaB On 9 July 2014, Helenius returned to his previous club AaB on a season long loan deal.Officielt: Helenius til AaB‚ bold.dk, 9 July 2014 He was very happy to be back and expected a turbulent season with a two-digit number of goals. He had a good season with 14 goals in 43 games and he was set to make the transfer permanent, as Aston Villa did not want to keep him.Agent: Villa vil af med Helenius, bold.dk, 2 May 2015
Return to AaB Helenius joined AaB on a permanent transfer in July 2015.Helenius makes temporary Aalborg return Goal.com, 9 July 2014 But in this season, opposite the last season, Helenius was the fourth choice and did not get much time on the pitch. A situation, that Helenius was not happy with, and he announced, that he would like to go out on loan.
Loan to SC Paderborn 07 On 1 February 2016, it was confirmed that Helenius would play for SC Paderborn on loan from AaB. He played his first game for Paderborn on 5 February 2016 in a 1–0 loss against SV Sandhausen. Helenius got some playing time, and scored 4 league goals in 14 games.
Back to AaB Helenius played the first three-season games for AaB, one from start and two from the bench. However, he was sent out on loan once again. His contract would expire in the summer 2017 and Helenius announced, that he would not be extending it.Helenius afskriver AaB-comeback, bold.dk, 8 November 2016 So he would be leaving the club after he was back from loan.
Loan to Silkeborg IF On 10 August 2016, it was confirmed, that Helenius was loaned out to Silkeborg IF for the whole season.Officielt: Silkeborg lejer Helenius, bold.dk, 10 August 2016 He played 29 league games and scored 10 goals in this season.
OB On 30 January 2017, it was confirmed that OB had signed Helenius from AaB, but first valid from when his contract expired with AaB in the summer of 2017.Helenius skriver tre år med OB, bold.dk, 30 January 2017
AGF On 7 July 2019, Helenius joined AGF on a three-year contract.AGF HENTER ANGRIBER I OB , agf.dk, 7 July 2019
Return to Silkeborg On 14 December 2020, Silkeborg IF confirmed that Helenius would return to the club from 2021 on a 3.5-year contract.SIF henter Helenius på 3,5 årig kontrakt, silkeborgif.com, 14 December 2020
Return to AaB In January 2023, Helenius returned to AaB, signing a deal until the end of 2025.Helenius er klar for AaB, aabsport.dk, 17 January 2023
International career Helenius got his first international call up in January 2010 for the Danish under-19, but had to leave it due to an ankle sprain.Helenius: AaB er førsteprioriteten One year later, he was called up to the Denmark U21 squad for a training camp in Dubai. He got his under-21 debut on 20 January 2011 in a training match against China. Helenius' goals at U-21 Level include the opening goal of the 3–0 victory over Northern Ireland in September 2011.
On 15 August 2012 he made his debut for the Denmark national football team against Slovakia.
Career statistics
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAaB2009–10Danish Superliga1000———102010–11Danish Superliga29521———3162011–12Danish Superliga321411———33152012–13Danish Superliga331622———3518Total953454———10038Aston Villa2013–14Premier League301120——61AaB (loan)2014–15Danish Superliga32832—122—4712AaB2015–16Danish Superliga10020———1202016–17Danish Superliga3000———30Total45852—122—6212SC Paderborn (loan)2015–162. Bundesliga14400———144Silkeborg (loan)2016–17Danish Superliga27932——213212OB2017–18Danish Superliga27731——213292018–19Danish Superliga27753———3210Total541484——216419AGF2019–20Danish Superliga29321——103242020–21Danish Superliga10011—10—121Total39332—1010445Silkeborg2020–21Danish 1st Division1310————13102021–22Danish Superliga291711———30182022–23Danish Superliga17521—81—277Total593232—81—7035AaB2022–23Danish Superliga15151———2022023–24Danish 1st Division22722———2492024–25Danish Superliga16323———1862025–26Danish 1st Division22922———2411Total7520118———8628Career total41112439252021352478154
Honours Individual Danish Superliga Golden Boot: 2021–22
References
External links
Danish Superliga player statistics at danskfodbold.com