Jānis Ikaunieks (footballer)

Jānis Ikaunieks (born 16 February 1995) is a Latvian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Rīgas FS and the Latvia national team.

Liepājas Metalurgs
Ikaunieks was born in Kuldīga. As a youth player, he played for the youth teams of Liepājas Metalurgs. Ikaunieks scored 11 goals in 20 matches in the 2012 First League season contributing to Liepājas Metalurgs II winning the championship.

Having been promoted to the first team in 2013, Ikaunieks debuted on 7 April in the Higher League in a 2–1 defeat against FK Daugava. Throughout his professional debut season, he played 19 league matches and scored three goals. The club was dissolved at the end of season due to financial difficulties, thus Ikaunieks and other players transferred to its successor, the newly-established FK Liepāja.

FK Liepāja
Starting the season as a nominal substitute, Ikaunieks was promoted to the first team 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 Jūrmala. Overall, he scored 23 goals in 32 league matches and became the second top scorer of the league 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. One month later 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 team on a four-year contract. The transfer on an undisclosed fee was officially affirmed on 7 January 2015. Ikaunieks debuted for Metz' first team on 20 January 2015, coming on as a substitute in the Coupe de France 1/16 finals match victory over US Avranches. He made his Ligue 1 debut in a goalless draw against Nice on 31 January.

AEL (loan)
In December 2016, Ikaunieks joined Greek Superleague team AEL on a six-month loan. He debuted in a 2–1 victory over Veria on 14 January 2017. On 18 January, against Veria once again, he scored his only goal for AEL in a match that ended 1–1. Reportedly, there was no buy option in the loan agreement and thus he returned to Metz at the end of the season.

FK Liepāja (loan)
On 15 June 2017, it was announced that Ikaunieks had returned to FK Liepāja while on loan from Metz. He made his first match on 18 June, in a 1–0 victory over Ventspils. He only managed to make a total of seven matches, six in the league and in the cup final in which Liepāja lifted the trophy against Riga FC, due to being out for two months after suffering from a metatarsal fracture. After the conclusion of his loan deal, Ikaunieks joined Liepāja on a permanent basis.

Ikaunieks instantly became an important asset in the 2018 Higher League season, scoring nine goals in 17 matches as well as being involved in the assistance of three goals. Once again being unlucky with injuries, he suffered from a shoulder injury at the end of August and was out for about three months.

Upon returning for the 2019 Higher League season, Ikaunieks scored seven goals in 24 matches, as well as scoring one goal in a Europa League qualifying match against Dinamo Minsk.

Strømsgodset
On 11 February 2020, Ikaunieks signed for Norwegian Eliteserien team Strømsgodset. He debuted on 17 June against IK Start in a 2–2 draw. On 1 August, having spent only a few months with the team and having only played six matches, Ikaunieks and Strømsgodset agreed on mutual termination of the contract.

Later career
On 6 August 2020, Ikaunieks returned to Latvia and signed for Higher League club Rīgas FS. He made his debut on 8 August against his old club Liepāja in a 3–0 victory. On 12 August, Ikaunieks scored his first goal in a 4–0 victory over Jelgava.

On 22 February 2021, Ikaunieks signed a two-year contract with Finnish Veikkausliiga team KuPS.

International career
Ikaunieks was a member of Latvian youth national football teams that ranged from U18, U19, until U21.

He debuted for the Latvian senior squad on 13 October 2014, playing the entire 90 minutes in a 1–1 UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying draw against Turkey.

It was later calculated that Ikaunieks had repeated the record of Māris Verpakovskis who debuted in 1999, being exactly 19 years, 7 months and 25 days old. On 29 March 2016, Ikaunieks scored his first two goals for his country in a 5–0 friendly victory over Gibraltar.

Personal life
His elder brother Dāvis is also a professional footballer, currently playing for FK Jablonec in the Czech First League.

International

 * Scores and results list Latvia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ikaunieks' goal.

Honours
Liepājas Metalurgs II
 * Latvian First League: 2012

FK Liepāja
 * Latvian Football Cup: 2017

Latvia
 * Baltic Cup: 2018
 * Baltic Cup runner-up: 2022

Individual
 * Latvian Higher League Player of the Year: 2014
 * Latvian Higher League Midfielder of the Year: 2014
 * Veikkausliiga Team of the Year: 2022