Axel Óskar Andrésson


Axel Óskar Andrésson is an Icelandic professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Eliteserien club Viking.

Club career

Axel started his career in the youth team of local side Ungmennafélagið Afturelding before he was promoted to the first team at only the age of sixteen, going on to represent the side eleven times in the 2014 2. deild karla season. After impressing for Afturelding he was invited for a trial in England for the youth team at Reading.

Reading

In July 2014, Axel joined Reading permanently, signing a two-year scholarship with the club. In July 2016 he graduated from the under-18 side having already committed to signing his first professional contract with the club. Having moved up to the under-23 squad, Axel was sent out on loan to gain some first team experience at National League South side Bath City in November 2016. Axel impressed during his time with the Romans scoring five goals from defence, and was even promoted to captain despite only being aged nineteen. He went on to make a total of eighteen appearances for Bath in all competitions. He was promoted to the first team upon his return to Reading in the summer of 2017, and made his professional and first team debut in the EFL Cup win over Gillingham on 8 August. On 6 December 2017, Axel joined Torquay United on a one-month youth loan deal until 6 January 2018.
On 15 August 2018, Axel signed a new contract with Reading, until the summer of 2020, and then immediately joined Norwegian 1. divisjon club Viking FK on loan until the end of their 2018 season.

Viking

On 21 December 2018, Viking FK announced the signing of Axel on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee.
During the opening game of the 2019 season on 31 March against Kristiansund, Axel suffered a season-ending knee ligament injury.

International career

Axel has represented Iceland at under-17, under-19 and under-21 level. In December 2018, Axel got his first call-up for the Iceland national football team.
He made his debut for the squad on 11 January 2019 in a friendly against Sweden, as a 70th-minute substitute for Eiður Sigurbjörnsson.

Personal life

Axel is the son of Andrés Guðmundsson, a former international strongman competitor and former holder of the World Strongman Challenge title.

Career statistics

Honours

Viking FK