Emil Roback

Emil Pakebba Joof Roback (born 3 May 2003) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a striker. Born in Sweden to Gambian parents, Roback has represented Sweden at various youth levels internationally.

Club career

Early career Roback started playing football as a youngster with IFK Norrköping, before representing IK Sleipner and Västerhaninge IF in two brief spells.

Hammarby IF In 2015, he joined the academy of Allsvenskan side Hammarby IF from Stockholm. On 3 January 2020, Roback signed his first professional contract with Hammarby. On 24 April 2020, Roback played striker alongside Hammarby IF shareholder Zlatan Ibrahimović in an internal friendly game with Hammarby during the COVID-19 pandemic that was televised by Dplay.

Loan to Frej He was loaned out to affiliated club IK Frej in Ettan, Sweden's third tier, for the remainder of the 2020 season. He ended up playing 8 games for Frej in 2020.

Return to Hammarby IF and debut On 25 June 2020, Roback returned to Hammarby for their Svenska Cupen match against IFK Göteborg. He made his professional debut after coming on as a 74th minute substitute for Imad Khalili as Hammarby would succumb to a 1–3 defeat.

AC Milan On 14 August 2020, Roback completed a transfer to Italian Serie A club AC Milan. The transfer fee was reportedly set at around 15-20 million Swedish kronor (approximately £1.3-1.8 million). On January 13, 2022 he made his first team debut, as a substitute, playing the final minutes of a 3–1 victory against Genoa in the Coppa Italia.

Loan to Nordsjælland On 31 August 2022 it was confirmed, that Roback had joined Danish Superliga club Nordsjælland on a season-long loan deal, with a reported purchase option of €2 million. However he only featured once with the team at the Danish Cup, and once with the reserve team, subsequently his loan was cut short before the season concluded.

Loan to IFK Norrköping In March 2023, Roback returned to Swedish Allsvenskan club IFK Norrköping on a season-long loan deal, the club where he had spent time as a youngster.

Muangthong United On 15 July 2024, Roback signed with Muangthong United of the Thai League 1.

International career Roback has represented his nation Sweden at the under-16, under-17 and under-19 levels.

Career statistics Club