Mikkel Riis Ladefoged (born 9 June 2003) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Lincoln City.
Career Club career Ladefoged is a product of Næsby Boldklub, where he spent his entire youth career. In March 2022, he was also promoted to the club's first teamNy ung spiller i Divisionstruppen, naesbyboldklub.dk, 16 March 2022 and finished the season as top scorer in the U19 division with 31 goals.U19 Drenge Divisionen 2021/22 (2022), dbu.dk
Sønderjyske During the spring of 2022, Ladefoged trained with Danish 1st Division club Sønderjyske so that the parties could get a closer look at each other.Video: Ladefoged ser frem til gensyn med SønderjyskE-spillere, soenderjyske.dk, 31 May 2022 On 31 May 2022, the club confirmed that they had signed Ladefoged to a two-year deal.SønderjyskE Fodbold skriver med to fynske talenter, soenderjyske.dk, 31 May 2022SønderjyskE henter to fynske talenter, bold.dk, 31 May 2022 On 30 July 2022, Ladefoged made his debut in a league match against Hillerød.Hillerød vs. SønderjyskE 1 - 5, soccerway.com, 30 July 2022
In the search for more playing time, Ladefoged was loaned out to league colleagues from Næstved Boldklub on 30 August 2023.Ladefoged udlejes til Næstved Boldklub, senderjyskefodbold.dk, 30 August 2023Transfernyt: Mikkel Ladefoged er lejet for resten af sæsonen, naestvedboldklub.dk, 31 August 2024 Besides a knee operation that Ladefoged underwent after the fall season, he played 20 games in Næstved and became the club's top scorer in the 2023–24 season with 9 goals.Ultravigtig melding fra Næstved-profil, sn.dk, 11 May 2024
In early August 2024, Ladefoged was close to a move to Tromsø IL, which ended up collapsing.Afsløring: Tromsø-skifte glipper – tilbage i DK, tipsbladet.dk, 7 August 2024 On 29 August 2024, Ladefoged was instead loaned out to Esbjerg fB until the end of the season.Sønderjyske Fodbold udlejer Mikkel Ladefoged til EfB, soenderjyskefodbold.dk, 29 August 2024EfB lejer Mikkel Ladefoged, efb.dk, 29 August 2024
Västerås SK Six months ahead of schedule, on 24 January 2025, Ladefoged left EsbjergMikkel Ladefoged forlader EfB, efb.dk, 24 January 2025 and instead signed a four-year contract with Swedish Allsvenskan club Västerås SK.Done: VSK signs Mikkel Ladefoged, vskfotboll.nu, 24 January 2025Mikkel Ladefoged solgt til svensk klub, soenderjyskefodbold.dk, 24 January 2025 However, Ladefoged was out for the first few weeks of his stay with an injury.Skada på VSK-spelare, vskfotboll.nu, 15 February 2025 On 13 August 2026, Västerås SK confirmed that they had agreed a deal with Ladefoged with a foreign club for a deal that represents the largest sale in VSK history. The transfer will take effect on 30 August 2026 and that Ladefoged will not play any further matches for VSK.Mikkel Ladefoged leaves VSK Football, vskfotboll.nu, 13 August 2026
Lincoln City On 30 August 2026, Ladefoged signed a five-year contract with EFL Championship club Lincoln City for an undisclosed fee, a record transfer fee for Lincoln City, beating the previous record set by Andrei Coubiș the previous month. The fee is believed to be a total of £4.3m million including bonuses and a resale clause of around 20 percent.VSK säljer Mikkel Ladefoged till Lincoln City FC, aftonbladet.se, 13 August 2026 He made his debut on 1 September, coming off the bench in a 0–0 draw against Blackburn Rovers. His first goal came in the following game against Southampton.
Career statistics
+Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational CupLeague CupOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsSønderjyske2022–23Danish 1st Division13141–001722023–24Danish 1st Division4011–00512024–25Danish Superliga2000–0020Total191520000243Næstved (loan)2023–24Danish 1st Division19811–00209Esbjerg fB (loan)2024–25Danish 1st Division11132–00143Västerås SK2025Superettan151000–0015102026Allsvenskan14900–00149Total29190000002919 Lincoln City2026–27EFL Championship3100100041Career total81309510009135
References
External links