Karl Hein (footballer)
Estonian footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Karl Jakob Hein (born 13 April 2002) is an Estonian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Bundesliga club Werder Bremen and the Estonia national team.[4]
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Hein playing for Arsenal in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Karl Jakob Hein[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 13 April 2002[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Põlva, Estonia | ||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)[3] | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Werder Bremen | ||
| Number | 1 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2010–2015 | Loo | ||
| 2015–2018 | Nõmme United | ||
| 2018–2022 | Arsenal | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018 | Nõmme United | 5 | (0) |
| 2018–2026 | Arsenal | 0 | (0) |
| 2022 | → Reading (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2024–2025 | → Valladolid (loan) | 31 | (0) |
| 2025–2026 | → Werder Bremen (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2026– | Werder Bremen | 0 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2017–2018 | Estonia U17 | 14 | (0) |
| 2019 | Estonia U19 | 3 | (0) |
| 2019 | Estonia U21 | 2 | (0) |
| 2020– | Estonia | 47 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17:21, 1 July 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:05, 9 June 2026 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Nõmme United
Hein began his youth career at JK Loo at the age of eight, before moving to the youth team of Nõmme United in 2015.[5] He made five senior appearances for Nõmme United in the Estonian third tier, Esiliiga B,[6] before joining the academy of English club Arsenal in May 2018.[7]
Arsenal
Hein signed his first professional contract with the club in May 2019.[8] He appeared in the Arsenal squad as an unused substitute for the first time on 29 October 2020, in the Europa League match against Dundalk.[9][10]
After playing for the Arsenal first-team in the 2021–22 pre-season, including his non-competitive debut against Hibernian, Hein signed a new long-term contract with Arsenal on 17 September 2021.[11]
On 10 November 2022, Hein made his debut for the Arsenal first-team in the EFL Cup third round against Brighton & Hove Albion at the Emirates Stadium, conceding a foul in the penalty area and the resulting spot-kick against Danny Welbeck as Arsenal lost 3–1.[12]
Loan to Reading
On 24 January 2022, Reading announced the signing of Hein on loan from Arsenal until the end of the 2021–22 season.[13][14]
Loan to Valladolid
On 13 August 2024, Hein completed a season-long loan move to newly-promoted La Liga side Real Valladolid.[15][16]
Hein and Valladolid started the season with a clean-sheet and a 1–0 victory over Espanyol.[17]
Werder Bremen
On 22 August 2025, Hein completed a season-long loan move to Bundesliga side Werder Bremen.[18]
On 26 September, Hein made his Bundesliga debut for Werder Bremen in a 4–0 away defeat to Bayern Munich.[19] Despite conceding four goals, he was praised for his performance, with Bremen’s managing director Clemens Fritz describing it as “top-notch” and the club captain Marco Friedl naming him their best player on the day.[20]
On 22 May 2026, Werder exercised their option to make the transfer permanent.[21]
International career
Hein was capped by Estonia at under-17, under-19 and under-21 level.[22] He made his international debut for the Estonia national team on 5 September 2020, in a 0–1 loss against Georgia in the UEFA Nations League.[23] Since his debut, Hein has become a regular starter for Estonia.
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 4 October 2025[24]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Nõmme United | 2018 | Esiliiga B | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| Arsenal U21 | 2020–21 | — | — | — | — | — | 1[a] | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 2021–22 | — | — | — | — | — | 1[a] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| 2022–23 | — | — | — | — | — | 1[a] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| 2023–24 | — | — | — | — | — | 1[a] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Total | — | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||||||
| Arsenal | 2021–22 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022–23 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Reading (loan) | 2021–22 | Championship | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||
| Real Valladolid (loan) | 2024–25 | La Liga | 31 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 32 | 0 | |||
| Werder Bremen (loan) | 2025–26 | Bundesliga | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Werder Bremen | 2026–27 | Bundesliga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 43 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 48 | 0 | ||
- Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
International
- As of match played 9 June 2026[25]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estonia | 2020 | 6 | 0 |
| 2021 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2026 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 47 | 0 | |
Honours
International
Individual
- Estonian Footballer of the Year: 2025[27]
- Estonian Young Footballer of the Year: 2020,[28] 2021,[29] 2024[30]
