Jesper Karlsson
.jpg) 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) | ||
| Positions | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team |
Servette (on loan from Bologna) | ||
| Number | 21 | ||
| 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) | 16 | (4) |
| 2026– | → Servette (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 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 19 September 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 19:36, 12 October 2023 (UTC) | |||
Karl Jesper Karlsson (born 25 July 1998) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or left winger for Swiss Super League club Servette, on loan from Serie A club Bologna.
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. Before the 2015 season, he moved to Falkenbergs FF, and he was offered a first-team contract in the autumn. In November 2015, Karlsson signed a first team contract that extends over the season 2018 with Falkenberg FF. Before he signed the contract, he had also served and trained with English side Brighton & Hove Albion.
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. On 17 July 2016, Karlsson scored his first two Allsvenskan goals in a 3–3 win against Hammarby IF. In total, he scored seven goals and made two assists during the 2016 season.
IF Elfsborg
Karlsson transferred from Falkenbergs FF to Swedish top flight IF Elfsborg on 2 December 2016 for a fee of €450,000.
AZ
On 11 September 2020, Karlsson signed a five-year contract with Dutch Eredivisie club AZ. However, the teams agreed that he stayed at Elfsborg until 28 September. 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.
Bologna
On 23 August 2023, it was announced that Karlsson had joined Italian Serie A club Bologna. On 4 January 2025, Karlsson moved on loan to Lecce for the remainder of the season.
Loan to Aberdeen
On 1 September 2025, Karlsson joined Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen on a season long loan, reuniting with Jimmy Thelin, who was his manager at Elfsborg. Karlsson was re-called by his parent club Bologna on 22 January 2026.
Loan to Utrecht
On 23 January 2026, Karlsson returned to the Eredivisie, joining Utrecht on loan until the end of the season.
Loan to Servette
On 8 September 2026, Karlsson was loaned to Swiss Super League club Servette for the 2026–27 season.
International career
In September 2015, Karlsson made his debut in the Sweden national under-19. He has also represented the Sweden U21 team.
He made his full international debut for Sweden on 9 January 2020 in a friendly game against Moldova.
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 21 May 2026
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Falkenbergs FF | 2016 | Allsvenskan | 26 | 7 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 7 | ||
| IF Elfsborg | 2017 | Allsvenskan | 14 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 17 | 1 | ||
| 2018 | Allsvenskan | 22 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 26 | 1 | |||
| 2019 | Allsvenskan | 25 | 8 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 26 | 9 | |||
| 2020 | Allsvenskan | 22 | 11 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 26 | 12 | |||
| Total | 83 | 19 | 12 | 4 | — | 0 | 0 | 95 | 23 | |||
| AZ | 2020–21 | Eredivisie | 32 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | – | 39 | 12 | |
| 2021–22 | Eredivisie | 34 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 51 | 21 | |
| 2022–23 | Eredivisie | 23 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 2 | – | 33 | 13 | ||
| 2023–24 | Eredivisie | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 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 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 6 |
| Utrecht (loan) | 2025–26 | Eredivisie | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 4 | |
| Career total | 259 | 72 | 24 | 9 | 30 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 319 | 88 | ||
- ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ↑ One appearance in UEFA Europa League, eight appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
- ↑ Appearances in Eredivisie European play-offs
- 1 2 3 Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
- ↑ Appearance(s) in Scottish League Cup
- Appearance in European play-offs
International
- As of match played 12 October 2023
| 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
- Eredivisie Player of the Month: December 2021
- Eredivisie Team of the Month: December 2021, March 2022, March 2023
References
- ↑ "Jesper Karlsson — svenskfotboll.se". svenskfotboll.se. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- 1 2 Velagic, Johan. "FD SERIE – DEL 3: Jesper Karlsson" (in Swedish). www.fotbolldirekt.se. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- ↑ "FFF erbjuder Jesper Karlsson kontrakt". Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- ↑ "Jesper Karlsson har skrivit på". www.falkenbergsff.se. Archived from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- ↑ "Karlsson valde Elfsborg före utländska klubbar". www.hn.se. 2 December 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
- ↑ "Jesper om sin debut: "En dröm"". Hallands Nyheter. 3 April 2016. Archived from the original on 6 April 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- ↑ "www.whoscored.com/Matches/1037570/Live". www.whoscored.com. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- ↑ P4, Nyheter (18 July 2016). "17-åring gjorde sina första allsvenska mål för Falkenberg". Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 September 2020.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - 1 2 Otterhall, Emanuel (17 July 2016). "Karlsson: "Jag har väntat på det länge"". www.expressen.se. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- ↑ "Karlsson lämnar Elfsborg – klar för AZ Alkmaar". SVT Sport (in Swedish). 11 September 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
- ↑ "IF ELFSBORG OCH AZ ALKMAAR ÖVERENS OM EN ÖVERGÅNG FÖR JESPER KARLSSON". elfsborg.se. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
- ↑ Pearson, Sebastian (4 October 2020). "Jesper Karlssons succédebut - två framspelningar på 14 minuter". fotbollskanalen (in Swedish). Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- ↑ "Jesper Karlsson joins the Rossoblù". bolognafc.it. 23 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
- ↑ "Karlsson in giallorosso" [Karlsson in yellow and red] (in Italian). US Lecce. 4 January 2025. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
- ↑ "Aberdeen FC - Dons Swoop for Swedish Sensation". Aberdeen FC. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
- ↑ "STV - Jesper Karlsson happy to reunite with Jimmy Thelin at Aberdeen". STV. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
- ↑ "Bologna recall Jesper Karlsson". afc.co.uk. 22 January 2026. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
- ↑ "Jesper Karlsson versterkt FC Utrecht" (in Dutch). FC Utrecht. 23 January 2026. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
- ↑ "Jesper Karlsson REJOINT LE SERVETTE FC" (in French). Servette FC. 8 September 2026. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
- 1 2 "Jesper Karlsson - Spelarstatistik - Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se. (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 20 October 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Jesper Karlsson - Spelarstatistik - Svensk fotboll".
- 1 2 3 4 "Jesper Karlsson » Club matches". WorldFootball.net. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
- ↑ "Jesper Karlsson". Svensk Fotboll.
- ↑ "Allsvenskans Stora Pris". Allsvenskan. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
- 1 2 "Ajax still provides most players for team of the month". Eredivisie. 14 January 2022.
- ↑ "FC Twente is the main provider for the Eredivisie team of the month". Eredivisie. 1 April 2022.
- ↑ "Sparta and AZ dominate Eredivisie team of the month in march". Eredivisie. 31 March 2023. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
External links
- Profile at the Bologna FC 1909 website
- Jesper Karlsson at the Swedish Football Association (in Swedish)
- Jesper Karlsson – UEFA competition record (archive)
