Jason Grégory Marianne Denayer (born 28 June 1995) is a Belgian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for Emirati club Shabab Al-Ahli and the Belgium national team. He made his professional debut while on loan at Celtic, being named the

PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year The PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year, formerly known as the Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year, is named at the end of every Scottish football season. The members of the Professional Footballers' Association Scotland vote on which of its ...

after helping them win the

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish ...

and

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

. He then spent the following season on loan at

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club'') is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Most notable for its association football department, the club also consists of various other de ...

, helping them win the

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup ( Turkish: ''Türkiye Kupası'') is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası ...

. He played several times for Belgium at Under-19 and Under-21 levels, before making his full

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

debut in March 2015. He was named in Belgium's 23-man squad for

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...

and made one appearance, playing in their quarter-final tie against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. He also featured at

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

Early life

Denayer was born in

Jette Jette (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Ganshoren, Koekelberg, and Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, as well as the Flemi ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, Belgium, to a Congolese mother and Belgian father.

Club career

Early career

Denayer started playing football at age six, where he started out at FC Ganshoren and then

Anderlecht Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...

. At the age of 13, he joined the

JMG Academy The JMG Academy is a sports organisation and training company established by French international football player Jean-Marc Guillou. Overview Guillou had established Académie de Sol Beni in Abidjan in 1994 via a partnership with ASEC Mimosa ...

in Lier. It was there he was converted from playing as a striker to becoming a defender. Denayer credits his time at JMG for honing his football technique. Youths at the academy do not play normal competition football, instead taking part in small-sided games among each other, focusing on technique and education in a private school. They trained in bare feet to improve their touch; "It helps to develop your technical skills. Once you've reached a certain level, you're allowed to put on shoes. From then on the training is focused on technique and playing in small spaces" explained Denayer. He described the regime as "tough", adding "Your day started at 7 am and ended at 10:30 pm. In between you had 90 minutes – just before bedtime – to call your friends or family. It was playing football, studying, eat, sleep". In 2013, Lierse, who are in partnership with the JMG Academy, attempted to sign Denayer. However, he rejected their offer and instead moved abroad to England to try and find a club. He had a trial at

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, but club and player failed to reach an agreement. He then went for a trial at

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

Manchester City

In July 2013 Denayer joined the

academy. In the summer transfer window, Denayer signed his first professional contract at Manchester City after a successful trial. Denayer was ever present for the club's campaign in the

UEFA Youth League The UEFA Youth League is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 2013. In its current format, it is contested by the youth teams of the clubs competing in the UEFA Champions League ...

, where he made eight appearances, scoring once in a 6–0 win over

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

. Denayer also played a huge role in domestic competitions where he helped the club finish fourth in the Professional U21 Development League, as well as reaching the final of the

U21 Premier League Cup The Premier League Cup is an English football competition run by the Premier League for under–21 sides. History The competition was created in 2013 as the U21 Premier League Cup, an U21 equivalent of the FA Youth Cup (an U18 competition com ...

. In pre-season during July 2014, Denayer was included in the first team and started in a 2–0 friendly loss away against

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

. On 10 July 2015, it was confirmed that he would be in the club's squad for their pre-season tour in Australia. Denayer signed a new five-year deal on 13 July 2015.

Loan to Celtic

On 12 August 2014,

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

signed Denayer on a season-long loan from

, making him one of

Ronny Deila Ronny Deila (born 21 September 1975) is a Norwegian football manager and former player, who is the manager of Standard Liège. He spent most of his playing career at Odd before becoming head coach at Strømsgodset, winning the Norwegian Cup in ...

's first major signings as Celtic manager. Denayer revealed that

Vincent Kompany Vincent Jean Mpoy Kompany (; ; born 10 April 1986) is a Belgian professional football manager and former player who played as a centre-back and is the current manager of EFL Championship club Burnley. He most notably played for Manchester Ci ...

and

Patrick Vieira Patrick Vieira (born 23 June 1976) is a French professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Crystal Palace. He is widely considered as one of the greatest midfielders of his generation. Vieira began his career at ...

played a vital role for him in joining the club. He scored on his debut and was named

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

in a 6–1 victory at home to

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

in the

. Four days later, on 20 August 2014, Denayer made his Champions League debut, in a 1–1 draw against

Maribor Maribor ( , , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is also the seat of the City Municipality of Maribor, th ...

, where he was part of the starting line-up. His second goal came in a 2–1 win over

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

on 13 September 2014. The defender scored again for Celtic on 18 October 2014, in a 5–0 win over Ross County. By the end of December, Denayer had made 17 appearances for Celtic and formed a solid partnership with

Virgil van Dijk Virgil van Dijk (born 8 July 1991) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Liverpool and the Netherlands national team. Considered one of the best defenders in the world, Van Dijk is known for his strength, le ...

in central defence. Denayer commented about playing alongside Van Dijk: "We play well together and he is a very good player", adding "I am also learning from him as well. He has more experience than me and he knows what to say to me. I listen to him because I know he can help make me a better player." Just months after arriving at Celtic, reports claimed that Celtic were keen to extend Denayer's loan spell by another year. However, Denayer immediately ruled out joining Celtic on a permanent basis, insisting that he hoped to earn a first team place at Manchester City in the near future. Manchester City kept an eye on Denayer's progress at Celtic, with Development Side coach Patrick Vieira stating "When I watch Jason playing for Celtic, or Marcos Lopes playing at Lille, it makes us really proud. The way they are performing lets me know we are doing things the right stuff ", and adding "The object is to provide players for the first team, but we know the gap is massive from under-21 to the first team – but this is one way we can get them there." Denayer won his first major trophy on 15 March 2015 when he played in Celtic's 2–0 win over Dundee United in the League Cup Final at

Hampden Park Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...

. He was described as being "strong in the tackle" and "comfortable with the ball". Denayer himself stated that "It is the first cup final and first win of my career, so it was a very special day for me." He also praised Celtic manager

: "He has been a very good coach for me", adding "I think I have improved and got better at Celtic. He

eila Eila may refer to any of these: *Entente Internationale des Luthiers et Archetiers, an international society of professional violin and bow makers. *Eila Campbell (1915–1994), English geographer and cartographer *Eila Hiltunen (1922–2003), a Fi ...

has trusted me to play and I have learned so much from that." On 2 May, Celtic were confirmed as Premiership champions when Dundee United defeated nearest competitors

. The next day, Denayer was voted the

, with his teammate

Stefan Johansen Stefan Marius Johansen (born 8 January 1991) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder and captains EFL Championship club Queens Park Rangers. In 2021 he announced that he had retired from international duty with ...

taking the overall prize. After winning the prize, he said when asked if he would remain at Celtic: "I don't know. I need to wait until summer and see what is going to happen... When I came here I just wanted to play some games and take some experience, but now I win trophies and personal trophies so it has gone better than I expected".

Loan to Galatasaray

In August 2015,

signed Denayer on a season-long loan from Manchester City. Denayer played his first game for Galatasaray on 15 September 2015, in a

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

tie against

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

. Despite a 2–0 defeat, the Belgium defender turned in an impressive performance. He then made his league debut on 19 September in match away against

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Trabzon. Formed in 1967 through a merger of several local clubs, the men's football team has won seven Süper Lig championships. Trabzonspor also have a women's football team, ...

, playing on the right side of defence, helping his new side keep a clean sheet in a 1–0 victory. Denayer continued to display his natural attributes of pace and power, whilst also improving his reading of the game. Two assists for goals against

Eskişehirspor Eskişehirspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club located in Eskişehir. Eskisehirspor has a total of six trophies, making them the sixth most trophies holders in Turkey. Founded in 1965, Eskişehirspor competed in the top division ...

and

Gaziantepspor Gaziantepspor was a Turkish football club located in the city of Gaziantep. Formed in 1969 and dissolved in 2020, Gaziantepspor were nicknamed the ''Şahinler'' (The Falcons). The club colours were black and red, and they played their home matche ...

also highlighted his ability to contribute to the attacking side of the game. His last match for Galatasaray was in the Turkish Cup Final against Fenerbahçe on 26 May 2016. Denayer provided the assist for the only goal of the game on 30 minutes; a flick on from Emre Colak's corner on to

Lukas Podolski Lukas Josef Podolski (; born Łukasz Józef Podolski, , on 4 June 1985) is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ekstraklasa club Górnik Zabrze. Known for his powerful and accurate left foot, he is known for his explosive ...

who headed in from close range.

Loan to Sunderland

On 31 August 2016, Denayer joined Premier League side

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

on a season-long loan deal. However, Sunderland were poor and ended up being relegated. Denayer struggled to perform consistently and was often fielded in midfield instead of his natural position as a defender. He was also hindered by a series of niggling injuries towards the end of the season.

Second loan to Galatasaray

On 31 August 2017, Denayer re-signed for

on a season-long loan deal. In a 2–0 win over

Osmanlıspor Ankaraspor Kulübü (), formerly known as Osmanlıspor (), is a Turkish professional football club based in the country's capital Ankara. Founded in 1978, the club competes in the TFF Second League. History Ankaraspor was founded as "Ankara Bel ...

on 28 January 2018, Denayer completed 60 successful passes, overtaking the previous pass completion record in Süper Lig set by

Atiba Hutchinson Atiba Hutchinson (born 8 February 1983) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder and captains both Süper Lig club Beşiktaş and the Canada national team. While playing in Denmark he won the Danish Super Liga Player o ...

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and Şişli, on the west by Kağıthane and Şişli, on the south by Beyoğlu, and ...

in season 2014–15. He played 22 games during his second spell at the club to help

win the

2017–18 Süper Lig The 2017–18 Süper Lig, officially called the Spor Toto Süper Lig İlhan Cavcav season, was the 60th season of the Süper Lig, the highest tier football league of Turkey. The season was named after İlhan Cavcav, the longtime chairman of Gen ...

Lyon

On 21 August 2018, Denayer joined

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

club

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

for €6.5m, signing a four-year contract. Denayer was a regular for the team, having 31 starts in the 2018–19 season and scoring two goals. He faced his former employers, Manchester City, in the Champions League quarter-finals on 15 August 2020, as Lyon won 3–1.

Shabab Al Ahli

After his contract with Lyon expired on July 1, Denayer was a free agent. He was signed by Emirati club

Shabab Al Ahli Shabab Al Ahli, is an Emirati professional basketball team located in Dubai. The team has competed in both the domestic UAE National Basketball League as well as the international FIBA Asia Champions Cup. Achievements * UAE National League ch ...

in late September 2022.

International career

From 2013 on, Denayer represented Belgium at different levels, such as Belgium U19 and Belgium U21. On 2 October 2014, national team manager

Marc Wilmots Marc Robert Wilmots (born 22 February 1969) is a Belgian professional football manager and former player who recently managed the Iran national team and is now active at Raja CA. During his club career as attacking midfielder, he won trophies w ...

called him for the first time to the Belgium national team for their Euro 2016 qualification match against

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...

. Denayer was included in further international squads for Euro qualifier matches against

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

and

and for a friendly against

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

. However, he was an unused substitute in each of these four games. Denayer made his senior international debut for

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

on 31 March 2015 in a

qualifier away to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

at the

Teddy Stadium Teddy Stadium ( he, אצטדיון טדי) is a sports stadium in the Malha neighborhood of Jerusalem. Three football teams currently use the stadium: Beitar Jerusalem, Hapoel Jerusalem, and the Israel national football team for select home match ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. He replaced

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

striker

Christian Benteke Christian Benteke Liolo (born 3 December 1990) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club D.C. United and the Belgium national team. Benteke began his career at Standard Liège, playing a part in ...

in the 67th minute of a 1–0 win which put Belgium at the top of the group. Denayer made his first start for the senior side on 7 June 2015, in a friendly match against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

which Belgium won 4–3. Manager Marc Wilmots substituted Denayer late on in the match for a minor knock sustained, and pointed out that it was after this that France scored twice to pull the game back to 4–3. He was named in Belgium's 23-man squad for the 2016 European Championships. Denayer only played once, coming in to an injury depleted Belgian defence for their quarter-final tie against

. Belgium, and Denayer in particular, were run ragged by Wales and lost 3–1. On 17 May 2021, Denayer was included in the final 26-man squad for the re-arranged

Career statistics

Club

International

''As of match played 29 March 2022. Belgium score listed first, score column indicates score after each Denayer goal.''

Honours

Celtic *

: 2014–15 *

: 2014–15 Galatasaray *

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

: 2017–18 *

: 2015–16 Lyon *

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in Football in France, French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was est ...

runner-up: 2019–20 Individual * Scottish Professional Football League Young Player of the Month: March 2015 *

: 2014–15 *

PFA Scotland Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Scotland Team of the Year (often called the PFA Scotland Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 44 footballers in the four national tiers of the Scottish foot ...

: 2014–15 *Celtic Young Player of the Year: 2014–15

References

External links

Manchester City F.C. Profile
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Denayer, Jason 1995 births Living people Footballers from Brussels Belgian footballers Association football defenders Manchester City F.C. players Celtic F.C. players Galatasaray S.K. footballers Sunderland A.F.C. players Olympique Lyonnais players Shabab Al-Ahli Club players Belgian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Scotland Expatriate footballers in Turkey Expatriate footballers in France Expatriate footballers in the United Arab Emirates Scottish Professional Football League players Süper Lig players Premier League players Ligue 1 players UAE Pro League players Belgium youth international footballers Belgium under-21 international footballers Belgium international footballers Belgian expatriate sportspeople in England Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Belgian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates UEFA Euro 2016 players UEFA Euro 2020 players Belgian sportspeople of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent Black Belgian sportspeople People from Jette Championnat National 2 players