Jesper Karlsson named as Eredivisie Player of the Month

Jesper Karlsson is in his second season in the Eredivisie and has had an excellent run with AZ. The Alkmaar team won the last five matches against Fortuna Sittard (2-1), Sparta Rotterdam (3-1), Ajax (1-2), Willem II (4-1) and FC Groningen (1-0). Their last defeat was more than two months ago, when Feyenoord beat Pascal Jansen's team with a minimal 1-0 win on 7 November.

Jesper Karlsson has played an important role in AZ's rise. With four goals and two assists in five games, no player was directly involved in more Eredivisie goals than the Swedish forward (6 goals; along with Bryan Linssen, Loïs Openda and Cody Gakpo). He also had the most shots on goal (9), played 40 passes into the enemy's penalty box and was voted the KPN Man of the Match three times by ESPN viewers.

In total, Karlsson has eight goals and six assists this season. He scored five goals from outside the penalty box, the highest number for an AZ player in a season since Alireza Jahanbakhsh in 2017/18 (also five goals). It is Jesper Karlsson's first Eredivisie Player of the Month Award. As well as a trophy, the forward will also receive his own upgraded Eredivisie Player of the Month player’s card in the EA Sports FIFA 22 Ultimate Team game.

The Eredivisie Player of the Month and Johan Cruijff Talent of the Month Awards are based on statistics (StatsPerform) and votes from football fans, cast via the KPN Man of the Match vote (ESPN). These elements also count towards the Eredivisie Player of the Year and Johan Cruijff Talent of the Year Awards, which are presented in a live broadcast on ESPN at the end of the season 2021/22.

The Eredivisie Player of the Month vote is an initiative of the Eredivisie CV in collaboration with ESPN. The Johan Cruijff Talent of the Month is an initiative of the Eredivisie CV, ESPN, Johan Cruyff Foundation and VriendenLoterij.