Am I wrong to start a thread for him? Arguably the most expensive player we have ever ‘signed’. Perhaps not the best, but he’s a multimillion pound player. Am I wrong to assume he’ll be a one season wonder?

interesting interview on red tv, the guy knows jimmy, has played with sivert, Rama, and Lewis Ferguson, all brought a very positive reaction from him when he talked about them. The number of goals and assists he has career wise was highlighted, we certainly need those. He comes across as quite a serious guy, plus talks about winning multiple times. As we all do, hope he’s a big hit starting this weekend with our first league win, something he states needs to happen this weekend too!

Edited September 10, 2025Sep 10 by OrlandoDon

I liked what I heard, he sounds very driven and a winner, which you’d expect given his career trajectory. I’m really excited and hope it works out for both parties. Certainly a player that has a very high ceiling on paper.

Hard to know what to expect from this guy.  I have read comparisons with Charlie Nic and Hans Gillhaus and would be great if he is anywhere near that level.  If you look at the detail, he is 27 and been capped just 14 times by Sweden who are not blessed with a vast array of exciting wide players.  He has played the equivalent of about 14 full games in the last two seasons.  Certainly has an eye for a goal by the looks of things.  Very strange that Bologna would splash out €11M for him then only play him 15 times 🤔 .  Been racking my brain to think of a player who we have signed that was once brilliant and we have rehabilitated back to life but struggling. 

8 minutes ago, wokinginashearerwonderland said:

Been racking my brain to think of a player who we have signed that was once brilliant and we have rehabilitated back to life but struggling

We've got a long history of it. From James Wilson, to Nicky Maynard, I'm finding it harder to think of one who wasn't an instant success and fans' favourite.

Across the board, I don't think there are many examples of players who make it back to their best after they slide down a level or two.  Most players seem to lose interest once they have been discarded by the big clubs.  England could almost field a team of them - guys like Dele Alli, Jayden Sancho, Ross Barkley, Calvin Phillips, Raheem Sterling and the rest.

EE has a video claiming Karlsson is the most gifted player in red since Hans Gilhaus. Got me thinking, what other performances absolutely stood out for you over the years?

I've only really been actively following the Dons since about 1990, so was too young and too naive to remember the Fergie days first-hand. So for me, it would have to be Craig Hignett was absolutely immense in the 3-2 win over Celtic in 1998. And I'm actually torn between Eoin Jess and Paul Bernard in the Coca-Cola Cup Semifinal in '95. Bernard absolutely controlled the middle of the park, which allowed Jess the time and space to take the absolute piss out of Gascoigne

25 minutes ago, Reekie_Red said:

EE has a video claiming Karlsson is the most gifted player in red since Hans Gilhaus.

Have they really figured that out from one decent game against the mighty Dundee? 

Very early to judge any player.  If you look back this forum to some of the early comments posted about guys like Nilsen, Duk, Besuijen and Rubezic I'm sure it would make interesting reading.

1 hour ago, wokinginashearerwonderland said:

Have they really figured that out from one decent game against the mighty Dundee? 

Got to agree, exciting as he was to watch on Sunday afternoon, this does sound a tad premature

I'd argue that Niall McGinn, James Maddison, Leighton Clarkson, Calvin Ramsay are all ahead of him in the gifted stakes in an AFC shirt so far. However, there are definitely the signs that he might blow them all out the water if he continues to settle into it. He's working very hard for the team, as well as beginning to turn on the style. 

Edit: of course, the similarities with Gilhaus are due to the point in their careers at which we signed them, which makes him stand out.

Edited October 9, 2025Oct 9 by RicoS321

While Karlsson did have a good game on Sunday I would say any praise should be tempered by how poor opposition was. Definitely signs there is a player in there but bit early to be comparing him to Super Hans. 

58 minutes ago, Jute said:

While Karlsson did have a good game on Sunday I would say any praise should be tempered by how poor opposition was. Definitely signs there is a player in there but bit early to be comparing him to Super Hans. 

I guess it comes down to the word "gifted". I didn't think Hignett was gifted for example, but he was very good. Calvin Ramsay was exceptionally gifted, but will likely have a shitter career than Connor Barron. Similarly, Clarkson is a gifted footballer, with his ability to see a pass and convert that vision into a released pass within a millisecond, which Maddison had in abundance. Karlsson's giftedness sits alongside McGinn for me. He looks like he's got the ability to simply drop a shoulder and send a player into a different universe. Gilhaus could do that too. Whether he converts that gift into a functioning footballer remains to be seen.

22 hours ago, RicoS321 said:

I'd argue that Niall McGinn, James Maddison, Leighton Clarkson, Calvin Ramsay are all ahead of him in the gifted stakes in an AFC shirt so far. However, there are definitely the signs that he might blow them all out the water if he continues to settle into it. He's working very hard for the team, as well as beginning to turn on the style. 

Edit: of course, the similarities with Gilhaus are due to the point in their careers at which we signed them, which makes him stand out.

Agree with the sentiment you’re expressing and would also add Ryan Fraser. When he was breaking through he got me off my seat more regularly than anyone since Jess.

42 minutes ago, wee toon red said:

Agree with the sentiment you’re expressing and would also add Ryan Fraser. When he was breaking through he got me off my seat more regularly than anyone since Jess.

Not to be pendatic, but I believe it's Ryan Judas Fraser.