Lincoln City duo eye dream end to the season ahead of Portsmouth challenge
Lukas Jensen and Lasse Sorensen are a similar age. They both hail from Denmark and both left home as teenagers to pursue their dream of becoming professional footballers. They have different backgrounds but both have found common ground at Lincoln City.
Jensen, a 25-year-old goalkeeper who has finally found a home away from home after joining Burnley as a teenager, has started all but one of Lincoln’s league matches this term, amassing 19 clean sheets in the process – the joint-best record in the division.
Sorensen, 24, is a midfielder turned right wing-back who has been on the books at the LNER Stadium since 2021. He joined Stoke City for a trial at the age of just 16 and has endured his share of turbulent times in Lincolnshire before establishing himself as a cult hero.
Both have been instrumental figures in a season which has been something of a slow burn. Memories of an underwhelming start have evaporated. A remarkable turnaround in fortunes has left Lincoln dreaming of a spot in the Championship.
While Sorensen threw himself into senior football at a young age in a bid to win a pro contract, Jensen trod a slightly different path. After becoming disillusioned with the game at the age of 14, he channelled all of his focus into mountain biking. He even participated in the European Mountain Bike Championships and Scandinavian Mountain Bike Championships before returning to football.
He explained: “It was probably at that stage where you either build on your mountain bike in terms [or do something else]. Mountain biking requires a lot of training; maybe four or five days a week.
“Luckily, being a goalkeeper translated quite well into mountain biking. But I was lacking the social life [with training]. That really came into play because most of my friends were still playing football. In the end, I chose the social life over it.”
Despite their different backgrounds, both echo similar sentiments when asked how they have found life at a club who go above and beyond in their local community as two players who have roots abroad.
Jensen says: “One of the huge things that was emphasised to me was how family-orientated Lincoln is. Once I had to do my medical over here, the club said they would fly my family in so they can see it as well. Little things like that. [Then] it’s not just my decision, but it’s my kind of like a family decision to go here.”
