Jesper Karlsson Scout Report At AZ Alkmaar 2021/2022 – A Look Into One Of Eredivisie Top Attacking Talents

Jesper Karlsson is having another strong year in the Eredivisie with his club AZ Alkmaar.

Karlsson arrived at AZ Alkmaar from Elfsborg in 2020, following a couple of strong seasons in the Allsvenskan, which caught the Dutch sides attention.

Karlsson has continued his progression and is now maintaining those performances and numbers in a stronger league.

Karlsson has always been highly rated with Manchester United having tracked him intensely as a teenager however a move never materialised and he stayed in Sweden.

Karlsson has received six caps for Sweden and is part of their impressive crop of younger players with the likes of Alexander Isak and Dejan Kulusevski, who pushed Spain all the way in the World Cup Qualifying.

Suppose Karlsson continues both his performances and numbers. In that case, AZ Alkmaar will have a real fight on their hands to keep hold of the Swedish international, with the attention of the Eredivisie’s biggest clubs and the rest of Europe being drawn.

This scout report and tactical analysis aim to analyse Jesper Karlsson’s game and some of the key attributes that have led to yet another impressive season, and how they may help take Karlsson to the next level.

Jesper Karlsson Position

Like many modern attackers, Karlsson plays as an inverted winger/inside forward.

This means they play on the opposite side to their strongest foot; in this case, Karlsson plays on the left despite being right-footed.

This is shown by Karlsson’s heat map, which shows he spends most of his time on the wide left side.

This role as an inverted inside forward suits Karlsson as it allows him to come inside onto his right foot, which we will cover in more detail in this analysis.

It has also allowed him to form a strong partnership with AZ Alkmaar captain Owen Wijndal, utilising a combination of overlapping and underlapping runs that makes Karlsson’s play even more effective. This aspect will be analysed in more detail in the scout report.

Jesper Karlsson Data

Jesper Karlsson has been recording some strong attacking metrics this season in addition to strong numbers last season.

Last season, Karlsson scored 11 goals and recorded 9 assists in the Eredivisie.

So