Jesper Karlsson
Swedish footballer (born 1998)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Karl Jesper Karlsson (born 25 July 1998) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or left winger for Eredivisie club Utrecht, on loan from Serie A club Bologna.
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Karlsson playing for Sweden in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Karl Jesper Karlsson | ||
| Date of birth | 25 July 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Falkenberg, Sweden | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Utrecht (on loan from Bologna) | ||
| Number | 17 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2003–2014 | IF Böljan | ||
| 2015 | Falkenbergs FF | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013–2014 | IF Böljan | 22 | (12) |
| 2016 | Falkenbergs FF | 26 | (7) |
| 2017–2020 | IF Elfsborg | 83 | (19) |
| 2020–2023 | AZ | 89 | (35) |
| 2023– | Bologna | 14 | (1) |
| 2025 | → Lecce (loan) | 13 | (1) |
| 2025–2026 | → Aberdeen (loan) | 18 | (5) |
| 2026– | → Utrecht (loan) | 10 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2015–2017 | Sweden U19 | 15 | (6) |
| 2020 | Sweden U21 | 5 | (6) |
| 2020–2023 | Sweden | 14 | (5) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16:33, 22 March 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 19:36, 12 October 2023 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Early career
Karlsson started playing in IF Böljan from the age of four. At the age of 14, he received his first-team debut for the club in Division 4.[2] Before the 2015 season, he moved to Falkenbergs FF, and he was offered a first-team contract in the autumn.[3] In November 2015, Karlsson signed a first team contract that extends over the season 2018 with Falkenberg FF.[4] Before he signed the contract, he had also served and trained with English Brighton & Hove Albion.[5]
Falkenbergs FF
The premiere of the headlines in 2016 were about Karlsson making his Allsvenskan debut. In the 79th minute he was replaced in instead of Akseli Pelvas, in the match Falkenbergs FF lost 2–0 to IFK Göteborg.[6][7] On 17 July 2016, Karlsson scored his first two Allsvenskan goals in a 3–3 win against Hammarby IF.[8] In total, he scored seven goals and made two assists during the 2016 season.[9]
IF Elfsborg
Karlsson transferred from Falkenbergs FF to Swedish top flight IF Elfsborg on 2 December 2016 for a fee of €450,000.[9]
AZ
On 11 September 2020, Karlsson signed a five-year contract with Eredivisie club AZ Alkmaar. However, the teams agreed that he stayed at Elfsborg until 28 September.[10][11] After arriving in Alkmaar, he made his debut on 4 October 2020 in a 4–4 draw against Sparta Rotterdam, in which he provided two assists.[12]
Bologna
On 23 August 2023, it was announced that Karlsson had joined Serie A club Bologna.[13] On 4 January 2025, Karlsson moved on loan to Lecce for the remainder of the season.[14]
Aberdeen (loan)
On 1st September 2025, Karlsson joined Aberdeen on a season long loan,[15] reuniting with Jimmy Thelin, who was his manager at Elfsborg. [16] Karlsson was re-called by Bologna on 22nd January 2026.[17]
Utrecht (loan)
On 23 January 2026, Karlsson was loaned to Dutch club Utrecht until the end of the season.[18]
International career
In September 2015, Karlsson made his debut in the Sweden national under-19.[2] He has also represented the Sweden U21 team.[19]
He made his full international debut for Sweden on 9 January 2020 in a friendly game against Moldova.[19]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 22 March 2026
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Falkenbergs FF | 2016[20] | Allsvenskan | 26 | 7 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 7 | ||
| IF Elfsborg | 2017[20] | Allsvenskan | 14 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 17 | 1 | ||
| 2018[20] | Allsvenskan | 22 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 26 | 1 | |||
| 2019[20] | Allsvenskan | 25 | 8 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 26 | 9 | |||
| 2020[20] | Allsvenskan | 22 | 11 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 26 | 12 | |||
| Total | 83 | 19 | 12 | 4 | — | 0 | 0 | 95 | 23 | |||
| AZ | 2020–21[21] | Eredivisie | 32 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 6[a] | 1 | – | 39 | 12 | |
| 2021–22[21] | Eredivisie | 34 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 9[b] | 1 | 4[c] | 2 | 51 | 21 | |
| 2022–23[21] | Eredivisie | 23 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 8[d] | 2 | – | 33 | 13 | ||
| 2023–24[21] | Eredivisie | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 89 | 35 | 7 | 5 | 24 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 124 | 46 | ||
| Bologna | 2023–24 | Serie A | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2024–25 | Serie A | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 7 | 1 | ||
| Total | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 | ||
| Lecce (loan) | 2024–25 | Serie A | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 13 | 1 | ||
| Aberdeen (loan) | 2025–26 | Scottish Premiership | 18 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 6[d] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 26 | 6 |
| Utrecht (loan) | 2025–26 | Eredivisie | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 |
| Career total | 253 | 70 | 24 | 9 | 30 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 312 | 86 | ||
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- One appearance in UEFA Europa League, eight appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
- Appearances in Eredivisie European play-offs
- Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
- Appearance(s) in Scottish League Cup
International
- As of match played 12 October 2023[22]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden | 2020 | 2 | 0 |
| 2021 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 6 | 5 | |
| Total | 14 | 5 | |
- Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Karlsson goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 March 2023 | Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden |  Azerbaijan |
4–0 | 5–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying |
| 2 | 16 June 2023 | Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden |  New Zealand |
1–1 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 3 | 3–1 | |||||
| 4 | 12 October 2023 | Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden |  Moldova |
1–0 | 3–1 | Friendly |
| 5 | 3–1 |
Honours
Individual
- Allsvenskan Striker of the Year: 2020[23]
- Eredivisie Player of the Month: December 2021[24]
- Eredivisie Team of the Month: December 2021,[24] March 2022,[25] March 2023[26]
