Janis Ikaunieks

Janis Ikaunieks (born 16 February 1995 in Kuldiga) is a Latvian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for KuPS in the Veikkausliiga and the Latvia national football team.

Club Career

Liepajas Metalurgs

As a youth player he played for the youth teams of Liepajas Metalurgs. Ikaunieks scored 11 goals in 20 matches in the 2012 First League season contributing to Liepajas Metalurgs II winning the championship. In 2013, he was promoted to the first team. On 7 April 2013, he made his debut in the Higher League in a 1–2 defeat against FK Daugava. Throughout his professional debut season, Ikaunieks played 19 league matches and scored three goals. After the end of the season the club was dissolved, due to financial difficulties, and as a result Ikaunieks alongside other players transferred to its successor, the newly established FK Liepaja.

FK Liepaja

Starting the season as a nominal substitute, Ikaunieks strikingly rose to the first eleven and was named Higher League player of the month in May. On 11 June 2014, Ikaunieks scored four goals in a 7–0 victory over FC Jurmala. All in all, he scored 23 goals in 32 league matches and became the second top scorer of the championship behind Vladislavs Gutkovskis from Skonto. In August 2014, Ikaunieks went on trial with the Croatian Prva HNL champions Dinamo Zagreb. In September, he was named player of the month for the second time in the season. In October, explicit interest in the player was reported from Ajax, Metz, VfB Stuttgart and Udinese Calcio. On 5 December 2014, Ikaunieks was named the best midfielder of the season and was simultaneously voted as the best player of the 2014 Higher League.

Metz

On 23 December 2014, Metz chairman Bernard Serin confirmed that Ikaunieks would join the Ligue 1 side on a four-year deal. The transfer on an undisclosed fee was officially affirmed on 7 January 2015.

This page also has a version in other languages :  Янис Икауниекс (russian)