Jesper Karlström

Jesper Kewe Karlström (born 21 June 1995) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Udinese, which he captains, and the Sweden national team.

Club career Early career Karlström started out his career playing for Hammarby IF at the age of six. When he turned nine the coach of his team moved to IF Brommapojkarna and brought his entire youth team along with him to the new club, including Karlström.

IF Brommapojkarna Shortly after his eighteenth birthday in 2013, Karlström made his Allsvenskan debut for Brommapojkarna away against Kalmar FF. At the start of the next year he scored for the first time when his game-winning goal in the last game of the 2013–14 Svenska Cupen group stage qualified the club for the knockout stage of the tournament. A few months later he also scored his first league goal in the 3–0 home win against IFK Norrköping.

Djurgårdens IF Brommapojkarna were relegated at the end of the 2014 Allsvenskan season, but Karlström had performed well enough to be signed by the larger Stockholm club Djurgårdens IF on a four-year deal. Ahead of 2017 Karlström had his shirt number changed from 22 to 6. On 10 May 2018, he played as Djurgarden beat Malmö FF 3–0 in the 2018 Svenska Cupen final.

In 2019 Karlström crowned himself as a Swedish champion as part of the Djurgårdens IF team that won the Swedish league for a twelfth time. Karlström contributed with the 2–1 goal in the remarkable second-half comeback to win the title.

Lech Poznań On 2 December 2020, Lech Poznań announced Karlström had signed from Djurgårdens IF on a contract until June 2024. In three-and-a-half-years, he totaled 144 appearances, four goals and nine assists across all competitions for Lech, won the 2021–22 Ekstraklasa title and contributed to the club's best-ever European campaign in 2022–23, when they reached the UEFA Europa Conference League quarter-finals.

Udinese On 3 August 2024, Karlström moved to Italian club Udinese on a two-year deal, for a reported fee of €2 million with potential bonuses. He was named Udinese's captain ahead of the 2025–26 season.

International career Karlström has represented Sweden at the U17, U19 and U21 levels. In November 2014 he made his debut for the Sweden national under-21 football team against Austria.

On 12 May 2026, Karlström was named in the Sweden squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Career statistics Club

International

Honours Djurgårdens IF Allsvenskan: 2019 Svenska Cupen: 2017–18

Lech Poznań Ekstraklasa: 2021–22