The Danish winger – who is on loan from Elfsborg – has shown flashes of what his is capable of so far at Pittodrie
Alexander Jensen watched Jeppe Okkels become a star in Sweden and has insisted he can really shine again at Aberdeen.
The Danish winger, who is on loan with an option to buy, previously played for Jimmy Thelin at Elfsborg and from there he won big-money moves to Utrecht and then Preston North End. Jensen came directly up against Okkels when he was at Brommapojkarna in the Allsvenskan and joked he couldn’t get near him. Okkels has only shown flashing glimpses of that in a red jersey – so far, but Jensen knows it is only a matter of time before his Pittodrie career takes off.
“I played against Jeppe in Sweden when he was with Elfsborg,” the right back admitted. “He was one of the top players in the league, he had a lot of clubs after him. My first season in Swedish football he was the top scorer at Elfsborg. When you played against them you knew he was one of the players you had to stop.
“I played directly against him one game when he came off the bench, they were winning 3 or 4-nil so the game was dead. I didn’t get close to him because we were losing by so many.”
Okkels biggest problem has been getting back up to top speed after almost a year out of the game. He got a bad injury at Utrecht and then hardly played at Preston. It has taken him time to find his feet. He impressed against Hibs and Dunfermline Athletic but was subbed at half-time in last weekend’s draw with Dundee United.
The Red Army will be hoping Okkels can make his mark in the Scottish Cup clash against Queen’s Park on Saturday. Jensen believes his fellow Dane is improving all the time.
“I can see him getting back to his best, we are seeing him in training every day getting stronger,” he insisted. “It’s just a matter of time before he gets back to the levels he was at Elfsborg, everyone can see that coming.”
Jensen admitted it has been good having a fellow countryman to help him settle. He claimed: “It has been good having him here too because it’s always nice to have someone from Denmark beside you.
“We have been helping each other settle in because there are so many things you have to think about when you move to another country. We have been getting my girlfriend a visa, she is a nurse so needs to get one so she can work when she is here.
“She has to get a licence for being a nurse in the UK and when she gets a job they can help her with the visa. There are other ways of doing it but hopefully we will be able to do it this way.”
Jensen has been the standout performer of Aberdeen’s winter window signing. The signing from Brommapojkarna reckons that has been down to the way the Dons dressing room has welcomed him.
He explained: “It is a very easy group to come into and easy to play with so many great players. Everybody around the team has helped me a lot.
“We are improving day by day. “There is still a lot to improve. I feel it is coming, how we want to play and everybody is in the same pattern. “It is coming on and off the pitch.
“It is a lot different to Swedish football. It is a lot more intense and there are more duels. “I have to get used to it. There are a lot of things I and the team can improve.”