Exclusive: Wolfsburg's Jonas Wind discusses Denmark and Harry Kane with WhoScored

We're not even at the Winterpause in the Bundesliga and this season already marks Jonas Wind's most prolific in a Wolfsburg shirt. The Dane has netted nine times across his 15 outings, and laid on an additional four assists, as the Wolves look to secure a European finish. So what has changed for the 24-year-old this season compared to last? 

"I've got that question a lot of times, but it's a mix of a lot of things. Sometimes it just clicks a bit better," Wind exclusively told WhoScored.com. "Sometimes you're in a period where you feel like the balls are going to come to you in the box. You just have to put it in the net." That's the striker's instinct right there. Wind has certainly established himself as a fox in the box for this Wolfsburg side. 

All nine goals he has scored this season have come inside the opposition penalty area, while a conversion rate of 23.7% is the fourth best in the division heading into the midweek meeting with Bayern Munich. "I have confidence in myself that when I'm ready and fit, then I have the qualities to do a good job and score some goals, and that's what I've done this season." Indeed, as a striker, confidence is key. 

If a forward doesn't feel confident in their ability to score, then chances are they'll shy away from taking chances to get among the goals. They'll take an extra touch before getting an effort away, minimising their chances of hitting the back of the net. Listening to Wind speak, he isn't a striker short on confidence at present and this bodes well for Wolfsburg as they gear up for a testing welcome of the defending champions. 

This is now Wind's second full season at Wolfsburg having joined from Copenhagen in January 2022, with his 2022/23 campaign impacted by injury. Now fit and firing on all cylinders, Wind is proving the perfect focal point to this Wolves frontline under Niko Kovac. With shots and key passes per 90 up and tackles per 90 down, has Kovac tasked Wind with expending his energy differently this season? 

"No, not at all. That's not something we talked about. The defensive is just as important as the offensive part in the game and we all need to defend as a team. The coach wants the whole team to work as a unit," Wind responded. If there is anything Wolfsburg do well, it is working as a unit. Hunting in a wolf pack, if you will. Only Bayer Leverkusen (111) have won possession the attacking third more times than Wolfsburg (82) in the Bundesliga this season, with Wind rightly praising the collective rather than the individual. 

VfL Wolfsburg has been successful in connecting with the communities internationally with projects like StrongHer to empower girls from difficult environments and women in soccer.

In addition, the Dream Trip is giving fans the ability to travel to Wolfsburg and watch Jonas Wind play live.

A few days ago they reached the milestone of 2 million international fans on Facebook as well!

These turnovers in key areas of the pitch create chances, and with teams prepared to press from the front, it's no wonder the Bundesliga is one of the highest scoring leagues in Europe. Factor in the additions of Lois Openda, Harry Kane and Victor Boniface to the league, combined with household names Serhou Guirassy and Wind hitting impressive form in the first half of the campaign, and you have to feel the Bundesliga is the place to be for strikers, right? 

"Yeah, it could be," Wind replies. "The amount of goals that a lot of strikers have scored is really good. It's a lot of back and forth football and you want to win 3-2 instead of 1-0 sometimes. So there's a lot of goals and as a striker of course that's great. You get a lot of chances. I'm happy to be here so I can't complain." The top three teams scoring the most goals per game in Europe's top five leagues all play in the Bundesliga, so if you're a striker; make sure to move to Germany to pile in the goals. 

As Wind alluded to earlier in the interview, he praises the collective efforts of the team rather than personal accolades. There's no denying that Wind has excelled in Germany this season and this is reflected in that he has won more player of the match awards (5) than any other player in the 2023/24 Bundesliga campaign. However, helping Wolfsburg to victory is more important than individual awards for Wind. 

"The most important thing is getting wins for Wolfsburg," Wind said when asked whether personal accolades are testament to his form. "It's the three points that really count." It's impossible to criticise Wind for that attitude. The striker is evidently keen on firing Wolfsburg to all the spoils rather than using his goals for individual gains and that is sure to sit well with the Wolves fanbase. 

This attitude will also go down well with his compatriots. Wind isn't the only young Danish forward making headlines in Europe's top five leagues this season and while Rasmus Hojlund has struggled in the Premier League for Manchester United, the former Atalanta forward excelled in their doomed Champions League campaign, netting five times in the group stages, the joint-best record. 

With the Euros kicking off next summer, Denmark's forwards will be key in Germany next year as they look to improve upon their semi-final finish at Euro 2020. "We know each other from Copenhagen. We played a year together and he's a really good guy," Wind said when asked on his fellow Danish forward. "I think the way I play and the way he plays, it's a good mix, so whenever we play, and if we play together for the national team, we do a good job.

England fans will have been dying to learn more about their opponents at Euro 2024, and they'll need to fear this Danish Dynamite pairing. Hojlund has made his mark on the international stage already, netting seven times in qualifying, while Wind chipped in with three goals and four assists as Denmark progressed from Group H with ease. "Hopefully we can continue that for the Euros in Germany." England, you have been warned. 

And so we come to the end of the first half of the Bundesliga campaign, and Wolfsburg have the unenviable task of heading into the Winterpause with a meeting with Bayern. There's an intriguing head-to-head on hand here as Wind gears up to outscore goal-machine Kane at the Volkswagen Arena this week. "I have big respect for him as a striker. He's amazing," Wind said when asked on coming up against Kane on home turf on Wednesday night. 

"Hopefully he will not score against us and then he can score as many as he wants in the other games." Wolfsburg will be hoping Wind brings the fire to send Bayern crashing back down to earth to further derail FC Hollywood's title pursuit. He's already played a key role in downing one title contender this season having scored one and assisted another in a 2-1 home win over RB Leipzig last month. Fans will be hoping he can repeat the feat in midweek to send Wolfsburg in the Winterpause on a high.