Moritz Jenz (born 30 April 1999) is a German professional footballer 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 club Mainz 05, on loan from VfL Wolfsburg.

Career

Early career

Jenz joined English side

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

in July 2015 after being scouted playing for Tennis Borussia Berlin.

Lausanne-Sport

On 25 August 2020, Jenz joined newly-promoted

Swiss Super League The Swiss Super League (known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a Swiss professional league in the top tier of the Swiss football league system and has been played in its current format since the 2003–04 season ...

side

Lausanne-Sport FC Lausanne–Sport (also referred to as LS) is a Swiss football club based in Lausanne in the canton of Vaud. Founded in 1896, Lausanne Sport played in the Swiss Super League in their most recent 2021-22 season, the highest tier of football i ...

on a permanent deal. The following month, he made his professional debut, coming on as a late substitute in a 2–1 win over Servette.

Lorient

On 30 August 2021, Jenz signed a five-year deal with

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 ...

side Lorient.

Celtic (loan)

On 19 July 2022, Jenz joined Scottish Premiership side

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 ...

on a season-long loan, with the club having the option of making the move permanent. This seen Jenz reunited with his former

teammate

Matt O'Riley Matthew Sean O'Riley (born 21 November 2000) is a Danish-English professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Scottish Premiership club Celtic. Born in England, he is an under-21 international for Denmark. Club career Fulham O ...

. The following month, Jenz scored on his league debut at Ross County On 6 September 2022, Jenz made his UEFA Champions League debut in a 3–0 home defeat against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

. In an interview with German website

Transfermarkt Transfermarkt is a German-based website owned by Axel Springer SE that has footballing information, such as scores, results, statistics, transfer news, and fixtures. According to the IVW, it is in the top 25 most visited German websites, and o ...

, Jenz spoke of his admiration for Celtic with him quoted as saying (in German): “Celtic is old school, Celtic is mysterious, Celtic is pure football and above all Celtic is a religion. When you stand at a home game, close your eyes and get goosebumps just from the chants, you know why this club fascinates the world”. Popular with Celtic fans, he is often called by his nickname “Mercedes Jenz”. Although Jenz expressed his desire to remain at Celtic beyond his loan spell - it would later be terminated in January after lack of playing opportunities from November onwards due to the winter arrival of Yuki Kobayashi and regular starting centreback Carl Starfelt returning from injury.

Schalke 04 (loan)

On 26 January 2023, Jenz joined Bundesliga club Schalke 04 on loan until the end of the season, with the move becoming permanent if his new club avoid relegation in the 2022–23 season. Three days later, he made his debut for the club in a 0–0 draw against

1. FC Köln 1. Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V., commonly known as simply FC Köln () or FC Cologne in English, is a German professional football club based in Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia. It was formed in 1948 as a merger of the clubs ''Kölner Ballspi ...

. Jenz appeared in 11 matches as Schalke failed to climb out of the relegation zone, finishing in 17th. Following the season, despite Jenz expressing his desire to stay with Schalke, the team confirmed that they would not push to sign Jenz permanently, and he would return to Lorient on 30 June.

Wolfsburg

On 16 June 2023, Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg announced they had agreed to terms with Lorient to sign Jenz on a 4-year contract for an undisclosed fee. On 28 August 2024, Jenz moved on a season-long loan to Mainz 05.

Personal life

Jenz was born in Germany to a Nigerian father and German mother, making him eligible to play for the Nigerian national team. However, his desire was to represent Germany at international level.

Career statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jenz, Moritz Living people 1999 births Footballers from Berlin German men's footballers German sportspeople of Nigerian descent Men's association football central defenders FC Lausanne-Sport players Fulham F.C. players FC Lorient players Celtic F.C. players FC Schalke 04 players VfL Wolfsburg players 1. FSV Mainz 05 players Swiss Super League players Ligue 1 players Scottish Professional Football League players Bundesliga players German expatriate men's footballers German expatriate sportspeople in England German expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland German expatriate sportspeople in France German expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland