Profile: Who is Lucas Hey, Anderlecht’s new defender? | OneFootball

Lucas Hey (21) is set to join Anderlecht. The Danish youth international, who has a market value of four million euros, is joining from FC Nordsjaelland and is currently undergoing his medical tests. HLN Sport’s Kjell Doms had a look at his career so far.

Hey’s early breakthrough

Hey is about to sign a contract for four-and-a-half seasons at Neerpede. He is a right-footed central defender and comes from Dragor, a Danish village near Copenhagen. He went through the youth ranks at amateur club Amager Boldklub Tårnby and made the switch to Lyngby in 2019 at the age of 16.

He was just 18 years old when he made his first team debut for Lyngby on 24 May 2021. He appeared from the bench for the final two minutes in the Superliga’s ‘Relegation Round’ against Vejle BK, in what was quite a harsh reality of senior club football. The game ended 2-2 and as a result, Lyngby tumbled from the Danish first tier to the second division.

Subsequently, Hey got a new coach in Freyr Alexandersson. He made an impression and was definitively transferred to the senior core by the former KV Kortrijk coach in January 2022. He also immediately signed a new contract with Lyngby until 2024. With Alexandersson and Hey, Lyngby finished second behind AC Horsens but still managed to secure promotion.

Proving himself in Denmark’s top tier

After adjusting to the highest level in Denmark, Hey was in the starting line-up at Lyngby almost continuously from October onwards. During that period, he also made his debut for the Danish U21 national team. Hey was now deemed a hot prospect and in the summer of 2023, he made a sensational transfer from Lyngby to neighbours FC Nordsjaelland.

Nordsjaelland, known for developing young talent, paid two million euros for the young central defender and enabled the defender to make his debut in the Conference League. The 6 ft 2 centre-back even scored in a 6-1 victory against Fenerbahçe. Despite his size, Hey is known as a very controlled, technically strong central defender.

Attracting the interest of Anderlecht

This season he played almost all matches for FC Nordsjaelland, who currently sit seventh in the Danish league. Now he is preparing for a new step in his career. As said, his market value is estimated at four million euros although it is not yet known just how much Anderlecht will pay for him.

With Jan-Carlo Simic and Adryelson, Anderlecht already have two right-footed central defenders in the core. Adryelson is on loan from Olympique Lyon until the end of the season, but the Brazilian has a purchase option of five million. The arrival of Hey may mean that Nunzio Engwanda and Amando Lapage will have to wait even longer for their chance – or look elsewhere for game time.

(Profile sourced/translated from HLN Sport/Kjell Doms)

GBeNeFN | Max Bradfield