diff --git a/src/app/shared/menu/menu-item-type.model.ts b/src/app/shared/menu/menu-item-type.model.ts
index 713dc6ab88..0063ed77e7 100644
--- a/src/app/shared/menu/menu-item-type.model.ts
+++ b/src/app/shared/menu/menu-item-type.model.ts
@@ -2,5 +2,5 @@
  * List of possible MenuItemTypes
  */
 export enum MenuItemType {
-  TEXT, LINK, ALTMETRIC, SEARCH, ONCLICK
+  TEXT, LINK, ALTMETRIC, SEARCH, ONCLICK, EXTERNAL
 }
diff --git a/src/app/shared/menu/menu-item/external-link-menu-item.component.html b/src/app/shared/menu/menu-item/external-link-menu-item.component.html
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..dc602cc572
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/menu/menu-item/external-link-menu-item.component.html
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+<a class="nav-item nav-link"
+   [ngClass]="{'disabled': !hasLink }"
+   [attr.aria-disabled]="!hasLink"
+   [href]="href"
+   [title]="item.text | translate"
+   (click)="$event.stopPropagation()"
+>{{item.text | translate}}</a>
diff --git a/src/app/shared/menu/menu-item/external-link-menu-item.component.spec.ts b/src/app/shared/menu/menu-item/external-link-menu-item.component.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4c55758b3d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/menu/menu-item/external-link-menu-item.component.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+import { ComponentFixture, TestBed, waitForAsync } from '@angular/core/testing';
+import { TranslateModule } from '@ngx-translate/core';
+import { DebugElement, NO_ERRORS_SCHEMA } from '@angular/core';
+import { By } from '@angular/platform-browser';
+import { ExternalLinkMenuItemComponent } from './external-link-menu-item.component';
+
+describe('ExternalLinkMenuItemComponent', () => {
+  let component: ExternalLinkMenuItemComponent;
+  let fixture: ComponentFixture<ExternalLinkMenuItemComponent>;
+  let debugElement: DebugElement;
+  let text;
+  let link;
+
+  function init() {
+    text = 'HELLO';
+    link = 'https://google.com/';
+  }
+
+  beforeEach(waitForAsync(() => {
+    init();
+    TestBed.configureTestingModule({
+      imports: [TranslateModule.forRoot()],
+      declarations: [ExternalLinkMenuItemComponent],
+      providers: [
+        { provide: 'itemModelProvider', useValue: { text: text, href: link } },
+      ],
+      schemas: [NO_ERRORS_SCHEMA]
+    })
+      .compileComponents();
+  }));
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    fixture = TestBed.createComponent(ExternalLinkMenuItemComponent);
+    component = fixture.componentInstance;
+    debugElement = fixture.debugElement;
+    fixture.detectChanges();
+  });
+
+  it('should create', () => {
+    expect(component).toBeTruthy();
+  });
+
+  it('should contain the correct text', () => {
+    const textContent = debugElement.query(By.css('a')).nativeElement.textContent;
+    expect(textContent).toEqual(text);
+  });
+
+  it('should have the right href attribute', () => {
+    const links = fixture.debugElement.queryAll(By.css('a'));
+    expect(links.length).toBe(1);
+    expect(links[0].nativeElement.href).toBe(link);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/app/shared/menu/menu-item/external-link-menu-item.component.ts b/src/app/shared/menu/menu-item/external-link-menu-item.component.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..5fbbe608db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/menu/menu-item/external-link-menu-item.component.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+import { Component, Inject, OnInit } from '@angular/core';
+import { rendersMenuItemForType } from '../menu-item.decorator';
+import { isNotEmpty } from '../../empty.util';
+import { ExternalLinkMenuItemModel } from './models/external-link.model';
+import { MenuItemType } from '../menu-item-type.model';
+
+/**
+ * Component that renders a menu section of type EXTERNAL
+ */
+@Component({
+  selector: 'ds-external-link-menu-item',
+  templateUrl: './external-link-menu-item.component.html'
+})
+@rendersMenuItemForType(MenuItemType.EXTERNAL)
+export class ExternalLinkMenuItemComponent implements OnInit {
+  item: ExternalLinkMenuItemModel;
+
+  hasLink: boolean;
+
+  constructor(
+    @Inject('itemModelProvider') item: ExternalLinkMenuItemModel
+  ) {
+    this.item = item;
+  }
+
+  ngOnInit() {
+    this.hasLink = isNotEmpty(this.item.href);
+  }
+
+  get href() {
+    if (this.hasLink) {
+      return this.item.href;
+    }
+    return undefined;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/app/shared/menu/menu-item/link-menu-item.component.spec.ts b/src/app/shared/menu/menu-item/link-menu-item.component.spec.ts
index 57cf05e37c..e9552f9173 100644
--- a/src/app/shared/menu/menu-item/link-menu-item.component.spec.ts
+++ b/src/app/shared/menu/menu-item/link-menu-item.component.spec.ts
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ describe('LinkMenuItemComponent', () => {
 
   function init() {
     text = 'HELLO';
-    link = 'http://google.com';
+    link = '/world/hello';
     queryParams = {params: true};
   }
 
diff --git a/src/app/shared/menu/menu-item/models/external-link.model.ts b/src/app/shared/menu/menu-item/models/external-link.model.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c5168a449e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/shared/menu/menu-item/models/external-link.model.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+import { MenuItemModel } from './menu-item.model';
+import { MenuItemType } from '../../menu-item-type.model';
+
+/**
+ * Model representing a Link Menu Section for an external link
+ */
+export class ExternalLinkMenuItemModel implements MenuItemModel {
+  type = MenuItemType.EXTERNAL;
+  text: string;
+  href: string;
+}
diff --git a/src/app/shared/menu/menu.module.ts b/src/app/shared/menu/menu.module.ts
index e9430299cc..1d186a9b7d 100644
--- a/src/app/shared/menu/menu.module.ts
+++ b/src/app/shared/menu/menu.module.ts
@@ -7,13 +7,15 @@ import { LinkMenuItemComponent } from './menu-item/link-menu-item.component';
 import { TextMenuItemComponent } from './menu-item/text-menu-item.component';
 import { OnClickMenuItemComponent } from './menu-item/onclick-menu-item.component';
 import { CommonModule } from '@angular/common';
+import { ExternalLinkMenuItemComponent } from './menu-item/external-link-menu-item.component';
 
 const COMPONENTS = [
   MenuSectionComponent,
   MenuComponent,
   LinkMenuItemComponent,
   TextMenuItemComponent,
-  OnClickMenuItemComponent
+  OnClickMenuItemComponent,
+  ExternalLinkMenuItemComponent,
 ];
 
 const MODULES = [
diff --git a/src/app/shared/shared.module.ts b/src/app/shared/shared.module.ts
index acfb099574..37f4fafb1e 100644
--- a/src/app/shared/shared.module.ts
+++ b/src/app/shared/shared.module.ts
@@ -172,6 +172,7 @@ import { BitstreamRequestACopyPageComponent } from './bitstream-request-a-copy-p
 import { DsSelectComponent } from './ds-select/ds-select.component';
 import { LogInOidcComponent } from './log-in/methods/oidc/log-in-oidc.component';
 import { ThemedItemListPreviewComponent } from './object-list/my-dspace-result-list-element/item-list-preview/themed-item-list-preview.component';
+import { ExternalLinkMenuItemComponent } from './menu/menu-item/external-link-menu-item.component';
 
 const MODULES = [
   // Do NOT include UniversalModule, HttpModule, or JsonpModule here
@@ -397,6 +398,7 @@ const ENTRY_COMPONENTS = [
   OnClickMenuItemComponent,
   TextMenuItemComponent,
   ScopeSelectorModalComponent,
+  ExternalLinkMenuItemComponent,
 ];
 
 const SHARED_ITEM_PAGE_COMPONENTS = [