Kevin Danso: All you need to know about our new number four

A new man arrived in N17 on Sunday morning as Kevin Danso became our second January signing.

Joining on loan initially with an obligation to sign permanently in the summer, the defender will wear the number four shirt.

Now its time to learn more about our new man at the back...

Danso's first interview

Born in Austria to Ghanaian parents, Kevin moved to Milton Keynes aged six and quickly made an impression in youth football, playing for Reading and Milton Keynes Dons. He came through the ranks at Stadium MK around the same time as the iconic Dele Alli, before heading back to the continent to join Bundesliga club FC Augsburg in 2014.

He made his debut for the Bavarian club in March, 2017 as an 18-year old, lining up against new team-mate Timo Werner in a 2-2 draw with RB Leipzig. Six months later, he made his international bow for Austria, coming on as a first-half substitute in a losing effort against Wales in a World Cup qualifier in Cardiff - he faced new team-mate Ben Davies as well as Spurs legend Gareth Bale that night.

Kevin would go on to make 44 appearances in total for Augsburg, his association with the club lasting seven and a half years, punctuated with loans out to Southampton and Fortuna Düsseldorf.

During that loan with the Saints in the 2019/20 season, the defender was on the bench for the south coast side as we defeated them 2-1 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in September, 2019, before playing in the 1-1 FA Cup third round draw at St Mary's the following January.

The summer of 2021 brought a permanent transfer to RC Lens, the storied Ligue 1 club buoyant from a strong first season back in France’s top flight. Kevin became an immediate fixture for Les Sang Et Or, slotting into manager Franck Haise’s three-man backline as Lens consolidated their Ligue 1 status, finishing seventh.

The following season brought rewards nobody could have predicted. Lens matched perennial title favourites Paris Saint-Germain step-for-step for almost the entire league season, eventually falling short of what would have been an astonishing Ligue 1 title by just one point. Kevin was ever-present — he played all but one game and was named in the league’s team of the season.

Qualifying for the UEFA Champions League thanks to that memorable campaign, Kevin made his debut In Europe's elite club competition in 2023/24. He played every minute in a memorable 2-1 win over Arsenal in October, 2023, though Lens were unable to advance to the knockout phase. His final full season with Lens ended with another seventh-place finish in Ligue 1.

After a strong first half of the current campaign, Kevin now returns to England and joins the Club to bolster our defences.

He has developed into the prototypical modern centre-back — strong, hard-working and comfortable carrying the ball in transition.

Our new number four is the third player to join us directly from Lens, with the likes of Benoît Assou-Ekotto and Adel Taarabt having also donned the colours of the French side.

He will also become the second Austrian to play for the Club, after his compatriot, fellow centre-half and namesake, Kevin Wimmer.