Jesper Karlsson: Sweden's next big thing?

Written by Maxi, @MaaxiAngelo, on March 11th 2021.

Scandinavia has established itself as a major producer of top footballing talents in the past few years. Most notably, Erling Braut Haaland, Alexander Isak, Martin Ödegaard, Dejan Kulusevski, are those who’ve stolen the headlights with their impressive development and standout performances. But, in their shadow, there are some other names who’re going rather under the radar.

One of those is Jesper Karlsson. The 22-year-old Swede exploded onto the scene in July 2020, when he scored 10 goals and 5 assists in 13 matches for Elfsborg. Many clubs took notice of the Falkenberg-native, but in the end, he chose AZ Alkmaar in the Eredivisie. A path that historically been preferred by many Swedish talents, to gain senior experience and play regular minutes.

Whilst at AZ, Karlsson hit the ground running from where he left off in Elfsborg. He assisted two goals in his debut for the club, and in his first five matches, he scored three goals and made three assists – registering points in five back-to-back matches.

It didn’t take long before he established himself as a regular on the left-wing in both of Arne Slot and Pascal Jensen’s starting elevens. Simultaneously, Karlsson made a name for himself in the Swedish U21 national team where he scored six goals and made two assists in five matches throughout the fall of 2020.

He impressed so much that Janne Andersson, Sweden’s national team manager, said that "Jesper has played tremendously well and had a great season. He’s continuously been good at AZ. He’s really, really close to the national team. He has fantastic characteristics and every opportunity to establish himself as a Swedish international." (Fotbollskanalen, November 2020)

So, who is Karlsson? What kind of player is he? And what are his strengths and weaknesses?

As a short and speedy player, Karlsson can play anywhere across a front three but prefers to play on the left-wing. Why? Because from there he can cut inside the pitch and launch shots with his sensitive right-foot. The 22-year-old is both skilled at curling shots towards the rear post or power strikes towards the near post, making him tough to read for the goalkeepers.

As a player, Karlsson has a very international style of play in contrast to the Swedish mould of a winger. He’s an artist who loves to show off his technical abilities in one-on-one situations, in tight spaces or in other phases of the game. He can either cut inside with his terrific one-on-one ability or go towards the byline and deliver crosses from there, which makes him a very unpredictable player. And, he doesn’t really tend to go for one option more than the other. Instead, he likes to keep the defenders guessing and keep them on their toes.

From another perspective, Karlsson has a brilliant strike on the ball. That enables him to deliver nice crosses, take good shots from distance and it also makes him a threat on set-pieces. The bonus? He can do it with both feet – and pretty much equally as good. His two-footedness is also what makes him a threat on the wing(s) as he can take any route towards the goal or deliver passes into the box with both feet.

But perhaps his greatest asset of all is his mentality. Many young players try to play safe, to not make any mistakes that could make them look bad. Karlsson is the complete opposite. He’s fearless in his attempts to create goals. He likes to try different things and has the creativity to come up with new solutions on his own when the opposing defence is playing well. That is something which is a perk for a young player, to be brave enough to try – yet smart enough to learn if the idea doesn’t work. That is Karlsson, he learns his lesson if something doesn’t work out – but he doesn’t let it shoot him down from trying again.

With regards to weaknesses, there aren’t many. The first that comes to mind is that if he leaves AZ for a bigger team or a bigger league, he’ll probably have to work more defensively than he’s doing today. That being said, though, it’s not his fault. In both Elfsborg and AZ he’s been staying more offensively as A) both are possession-dominating teams and B) the tactics have allowed him to. In the Swedish U21s, he’s been more involved defensively and done it well. So, the capability is there, but at the moment it’s fairly latent.

The second thing that comes to mind is offensive awareness. Karlsson tends to be offside a bit too much, which is something he must work on. But, that could be easily fixed with focused training towards it.

Overall, Karlsson is a huge talent. He has the potential to play in a top club in Europe, without a doubt, and his style of play is a perfect fit for it. He’d probably benefit from playing another season in the Eredivisie to grow experience in European football, but after that, he’ll be ready to take the next step and conquer the European scene. Something he’s already started, at both AZ and the Europa League this season.

Keep an eye on this tricky Swede, he has a great future ahead.

Written by Maxi, @MaaxiAngelo.