Emil Winther Højlund (born 4 January 2005) is a Danish 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 lea ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for 2. Bundesliga club

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as Schalke 04 (), and abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional sports club from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its football team, w ...

Early life

Højlund was born to former Danish footballer Anders Højlund, who played in the

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga (, ) is a professional association football league in Denmark and the highest level of the Danish football league system. The league is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams relegated. It is the current ...

with

Boldklubben af 1893 Boldklubben af 1893, commonly referred to as B.93, is a football club based in Østerbro, Copenhagen, Denmark. The team competes in the Danish 1st Division, the second level of the Danish football league system, after achieving promotion in t ...

. He is the twin brother of

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a German professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German footb ...

footballer Oscar Højlund, and the younger brother of Danish international and

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

footballer

Rasmus Højlund Rasmus Winther Højlund (; born 4 February 2003) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester United and the Denmark national team. Højlund graduated from Copenhagen's youth academy, making h ...

Club career

Højlund began his career with local side Hørsholm-Usserød IK, a club affiliated with Superliga side

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, whom he joined alongside his brother Oscar at the age of thirteen. His first taste of senior football came on 9 December 2021, when he was named on the bench for a

UEFA Europa Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual association football, football competition organised since 2021 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European foot ...

fixture against Slovan Bratislava, though he did not feature as a goal from his brother Rasmus helped Copenhagen to a 2–0 win. He extended his contract with the club on 23 December 2021, alongside his brother Oscar. On 10 March 2022, Højlund made his professional debut for Copenhagen, coming on as a late substitute for Lukas Lerager in a 4–4 away draw to

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional association football, football department, which has pla ...

in the UEFA Europa Conference League. Following the game, manager Jess Thorup said of both Højlund and fellow youth player Roony Bardghji, who had also featured in the game: "We are not afraid to use them, and they showed again that they are ready when it matters." Højlund scored his first goal for the club in a friendly match against

Silkeborg Silkeborg () is a Denmark, Danish town with a population of 52,571 (1 January 2025).Lyngby Kongens Lyngby (, Danish language, Danish for "the King's Heather Town"; short form Lyngby) is the seat and commercial centre of Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. Lyngby Hovedgade is a busy shopping stre ...

2–1. On 16 July 2024, German club

announced that they had signed Højlund until 30 June 2028.

International career

Højlund has represented Denmark from under-16 to under-19 level.

Style of play

Højlund has been described by Copenhagen's development director Sune Smith-Nielsen as a "complete striker who can play in the two front positions in the centre of the field", with good speed, technique, vision and finishing ability.

Career statistics

References

External links

Profile
at the Schalke 04 website {{DEFAULTSORT:Hojlund, Emil 2005 births Living people Danish men's footballers Denmark men's youth international footballers Men's association football forwards Danish Superliga players 2. Bundesliga players Regionalliga players F.C. Copenhagen players FC Schalke 04 players FC Schalke 04 II players Danish expatriate men's footballers Danish expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Danish twins 21st-century Danish sportsmen Sportspeople from Hørsholm Municipality