Jesper Karlsson

This article is about a Swedish footballer. For Finnish footballer, see Jesper Karlsson (footballer, born 2000). For the Swedish politician, see Jesper Skalberg Karlsson.

Karl Jesper Karlsson (born 25 July 1998) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or left winger for Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen and the Sweden national team.

Jesper Karlsson

Karlsson playing for Sweden in 2023
Personal information
Full name	Karl Jesper Karlsson
Date of birth	(1998-07-25) 25 July 1998 (age 27)
Place of birth	Falkenberg, Sweden
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder, left winger
Team information
Current team	Aberdeen
Number	23
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-	→ Aberdeen (loan)	0	(0)
International career‡
2015–2017	Sweden U19	15	(6)
2020	Sweden U21	5	(6)
2020–	Sweden	14	(5)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 30 May 2025 ‡ 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]

International career

In September 2015, Karlsson made his debut in the Sweden national under-19.^[2] He has also represented the Sweden U21 team.^[16]

He made his full international debut for Sweden on 9 January 2020 in a friendly game against Moldova.^[16]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 25 May 2025

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Falkenbergs FF	2016[17]	Allsvenskan	26	7	3	0	—		—		29	7
IF Elfsborg	2017[17]	Allsvenskan	14	0	3	1	—		—		17	1
	2018[17]	Allsvenskan	22	0	4	1	—		—		26	1
	2019[17]	Allsvenskan	25	8	1	1	—		—		26	9
	2020[17]	Allsvenskan	22	11	4	1	—		—		26	12
	Total		83	19	12	4	—		0	0	95	23
AZ	2020–21[18]	Eredivisie	32	11	1	0	6[a]	1	–		39	12
	2021–22[18]	Eredivisie	34	15	4	3	9[b]	1	4[c]	2	51	21
	2022–23[18]	Eredivisie	23	9	2	2	8[d]	2	–		33	13
	2023–24[18]	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
	Total		13	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	13	1
Aberdeen (loan)	2025-26	Scottish Premiership	0	0	0	0	0	0	–		0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Career total			225	63	23	9	24	4	4	2	276	78

1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
2. One appearance in UEFA Europa League, eight appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
3. Appearances in Eredivisie European play-offs
4. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

International

As of match played 12 October 2023^[19]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

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.

List of international goals scored by Jesper Karlsson

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^[20]
• Eredivisie Player of the Month: December 2021^[21]
• Eredivisie Team of the Month: December 2021,^[21] March 2022,^[22] March 2023^[23]