Kjær has played over 70 games for Denmark, including at the , the and the. FC Midtjylland Born in , Kjær started playing football with small-time club Lund IF near , before moving to the youth team of club in 2004. He was named the best player of a youth tournament in April 2006, and Midtjylland subsequently rejected offers from for Kjær and. He made his senior debut for Midtjylland in the training matches in June 2006, and was promoted to the first team squad in January 2007. He had a successful trial with in August 2007, but their transfer offer was refused by FC Midtjylland. He signed a five-year contract with Midtjylland instead in September 2007. He made his Superliga debut on 30 September 2007, in the 2—0 victory against , and played four games in the first half of the season. By October 2007, Kjær had attracted the likes of clubs and. He played all 15 games in the second half of the Superliga season, forming a defensive partnership with. Palermo In July 2008, Kjær joined Italian club. His performance won praise despite Palermo's 3—1 home defeat. He scored his first goal for Palermo in his third appearance on 2 November in a 3—0 win over. He ended the as Palermo's top scoring defender in Serie A with three goals. Kjær confirmed his reputation as a first team regular in the , and formed a strong defensive partnership with fellow centre-back. In September 2009, he signed an improved contract with the Sicilian club. He was named 2009 Danish Talent of the Year in November 2009, beating 's and 's after his successful first season in Palermo. In January 2010, he was also named as for 2009. The next day, he celebrated with a goal against that decided the match for Palermo as the match ended 2—1. He scored twice during the season, and played a total 35 Serie A games. VfL Wolfsburg Clubs like English side , , , Italian side had reportedly shown interest in signing the player. On 30 June 2010, Wolfsburg confirmed they had opened talks with Kjær. Wolfsburg had beaten off competition from various European heavyweights to sign Kjær. On 8 July 2010, Wolfsburg signed Kjær for an undisclosed fee believed to be in excess of £10million. We have a strong team that can challenge at the top of the Bundesliga. First, I need to secure a regular place. The move from Serie A to the Bundesliga and VfL Wolfsburg was not only economically justifiable for the young Danish defender. Both national coach and Kjær himself said after the shift that this is both sporty and developmentally was a step in the right direction for him. Kjær made his unofficial debut for in a pre-season fixture against , in which Wolfsburg ran out 1—0 winners. Kjær made his debut for Wolfsburg in a 2—1 loss against on 20 August 2010. After a poor start to the season for Wolfsburg, with varying results and unmet expectations; Kjær scored his first goal for Wolfsburg in a 2—0 win over when he headed the ball in over the line after a corner kick. Several statisticians have noted that the ball took a deflection, however the goal was eventually credited to. Despite much criticism from the media for his poor performances, Kjær played in the starting lineup in all 17 Bundesliga matches in the autumn 2010 season. After having formed a successful partnership with international in Wolfsburg's central defence, Kjær would then feature alongside international. In his 19th appearance in the league, Kjær scored his first Bundesliga goal for the club. Kjær was match winner in the 0—1 away game against Mainz 05, with a headed goal in the 83rd minute, which Kjær secured the first Wolfsburg victory in eight matches — after seven drawn games in a row. Following 's sacking who brought him to the club due to further poor results in February 2011, returned to Wolfsburg the manager guided the club to win their first Bundesliga title. Magath made a comment on criticising the 'poor condition' of the players he inherited including Kjær from McClaren. During the English coach had Kjær started 20 out of 21 Bundesliga matches, after having been out with an injury in round 20 against Dortmund. In connection with the dismissal declared affection in public, that he was sorry for firing, and that he had been happy to work with Steve McClaren. In his first season, Kjær made 32 appearances and scored two goals. In his second season at Wolfsburg, Kjær made three appearances for Wolfsburg. Kjær's time at Wolfsburg has been met by frustration, as the club narrowly avoided the drop last season and he has come under fire for some lacklustre displays. Loan to Roma In the summer transfer window 2011, Kjær revealed that head coach Magath told him that he'll be allowed to leave this summer and reported that he had fallen out favor with Magath. However, the move to Roma was put back on hold after reports in Italy claimed the defender had been recalled by his club Wolfsburg. Instead on 30 August 2011, Kjær went out on a season-long loan deal to Roma, with the option to purchase at the end of the season. Kjær made his debut for Roma in a 0—0 draw against on 17 September 2011. On 16 October 2011, Kjær received a red in a 2—1 loss against Lazio. Roma director dropped a strong hint that the club may decide against signing Kjær on a permanent basis due to his poor performance at Roma. He has been largely disappointing for Roma after he was to blame after Roma's 4—2 defeat to on 1 February 2012. In the end, Roma decided against signing Kjær permanently, stating that he had made too many costly errors. Return to Wolfsburg After his loan-spell at Roma ended, Kjær stated he will not return to Wolfsburg, after coach Magath decided the Dane was not going to be part of his first team plans for the club's. However, Magath soon after announced he was now willing to bury the hatchet with Kjær and would be keen to bring him into his first team at Wolfsburg. Lille OSC On 5 July 2013, it was announced that Kjær had signed a four-year deal with side, Lille. Kjær impressed during his first season in the French Ligue 1 as leader of the best defense in the major European national leagues in the 2013—14 season conceding only 26 goals in 38 matches including an impressive number of 21 clean sheets. He scored his first ever goal against with a deflected free kick. Kjær attempt to block shot in the UEFA Euro 2012 campaign. Kjær made his debut for the in September 2006, at the age of 17. He played a total 10 games and scored one goal for the under-19s until October 2007, and was named 2007 as the under-19s coach found Kjær had shown himself a talented defender despite his young age. Following his breakthrough with Midtjylland, Kjær was rested from the under-19s in March 2008 to avoid wearing him out. He was called up for the in May 2008 as a replacement for , making his debut in a 0—4 defeat against the. He was out of the under-21 team during his first time at Palermo, but was recalled in October 2008, spending the game as an unused substitute to and. Kjær was called up to the senior in February 2009, as national team coach was impressed by his form for Palermo, and saw him and as main competitors to replace the retired defender. He was an unused substitute for the against , and returned to the under-21s for a single game in March 2009, playing well enough that under-21 coach recommended him for a recall to Olsen's squad. He was once again a part of the senior squad for the game against on 6 June 2009. Per Krøldrup was unavailable due to injury, and Kjær played the full game despite an injury of his own, as Denmark won 1—0. Kjær established himself in the Danish starting line-up, played the following three qualification games, and helped Denmark qualify for the 2010 World Cup. For the September 2009 qualification game against , Kjær told reporters that should be stopped by a series of small fouls and one hard tackle. This prompted a complaint to by the requesting Kjær be suspended for unsportsman-like conduct, but the case was dropped following the mediation of the. On 28 May 2010, Denmark coach announced that the player would be part of the final squad of 23 participating in the in. He was in the starting eleven in Denmark's first two games against the Netherlands and Cameroon, where he received a yellow card in both games and therefore missed the third and crucial group game against Japan. However, in the match against Cameroon he was highly praised for his excellent long-range passing which helped to set up 's first goal. On 7 September 2010, following Denmark win over Iceland, was not been impressed by Kjær and criticized him that he is making too many mistakes. It is the first time that I have come under pressure and I try to take these words as a motivation. I am not happy about his Tøfting's opinion. He just says that to stay in the public attention. He should be serious! Year Apps Goals 2009 7 0 2010 8 0 2011 6 0 2012 10 0 2013 7 1 2014 8 1 2015 10 0 2016 10 1 2017 8 0 2018 8 0 Total 82 3 International goals Scores and results list Denmark's goal tally first. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. Retrieved 2 June 2010. Retrieved 8 November 2010. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 20 June 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2010. Retrieved 2 June 2010. Retrieved 2 June 2010. Retrieved 2 June 2010. 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