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Leopold Wahlstedt

Leopold Wahlstedt (born 4 July 1999) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Danish Superliga club AGF and the Sweden national team.

Club career

Early years

Born in Stockholm, Wahlstedt played youth football for AIK and Norrtulls SK, before moving to FC Djursholm.[3][4] In April 2018, he signed with recently promoted Allsvenskan club Dalkurd FF.[5] He made his professional debut for the club on 21 August 2018, starting in a 2–1 Svenska Cupen win against Karlbergs BK.[6] During his sole season at the club, he failed to make a single league appearance, only playing the one match in Svenska Cupen.[2]

Arendal

In January 2019, Wahlstedt moved to Norwegian third tier club Arendal.[7] Through the first three games of the season, Wahlstedt was a backup, but he soon earned the starting job after making his debut on 1 May 2019 in the Norwegian Football Cup match against Vindbjart, which his team won 3–0.[8][2] His league debut followed three days later in a 5–3 loss to Fredrikstad.[9]

Odd

Wahlstedt joined the Eliteserien side Odd from Arendal ahead of the 2021 season as a backup for Sondre Rossbach. On 12 September 2021, he made his Eliteserien debut for the club in a 1–1 draw against Bodø/Glimt.[10] From that date, he made the place his own. In the following two seasons, he was considered the best and most potential goalkeeper in Eliteserien, with many rumors of moving to bigger clubs. Representatives from clubs such as Liverpool, Villarreal and FC Schalke 04 were present during the games at Skagerak Arena.

Blackburn Rovers

On 8 August 2023, Wahlstedt joined Championship club Blackburn Rovers on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee.[11] He made his debut for Blackburn on 1 October 2023, coming on as a substitute for the injured Aynsley Pears during a 4–1 defeat to Leicester City.[12] Throughout the 2023–24 season, Wahlstedt made 21 Championship appearances, starting in 20 matches.[1] His debut season in English football included periods of scrutiny, particularly in December 2023, when he was criticised for a series of errors on aerial balls that led to goals against Southampton, Watford, Rotherham United, and Huddersfield Town. Blackburn manager Jon Dahl Tomasson addressed the situation publicly, attributing the mistakes to Wahlstedt’s inexperience and highlighting the learning curve associated with playing regularly in the Championship.[13]

AGF

On 3 July 2024, Wahlstedt joined Danish Superliga club AGF for an undisclosed fee.[14] He made his competitive debut on 25 September in a third-round Danish Cup match against VSK Aarhus, but was substituted after 15 minutes following an ankle injury.[15] Initial examinations revealed a broken bone, sidelining him for an extended period.[16] He resumed training in January 2025 during AGF's winter camp in Estepona, Spain.[17]

Initially serving as backup to veteran Jesper Hansen, Wahlstedt was named starting goalkeeper by head coach Uwe Rösler on 24 April 2025. The change followed a poor run of form, with the club winless in its previous four matches.[18]

International career

In September 2022, Wahlstedt received his first call-up to the Sweden national team after a convincing season in Eliteserien.[4] He made his full international for debut Sweden on 9 January 2023, playing for 90 minutes in a friendly 2–0 win against Finland.[19]

Personal life

Wahlstedt's paternal grandfather is from Sicily, Italy.[3]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 25 September 2024[1]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Dalkurd FF 2018 Allsvenskan 0 0 1 0 — — 1 0
Arendal 2019 2. divisjon 22 0 0 0 — — 22 0
2020 2. divisjon 19 0 0 0 — — 19 0
Total 41 0 0 0 — — 41 0
Odd 2 2021 2. divisjon 14 0 — — — 14 0
Odd 2021 Eliteserien 13 0 2 0 — — 15 0
2022 Eliteserien 30 0 1 0 — — 31 0
2023 Eliteserien 17 0 1 0 — — 18 0
Total 60 0 4 0 — — 64 0
Blackburn Rovers 2023–24 Championship 21 0 0 0 3 0 — 24 0
AGF 2024–25 Danish Superliga 0 0 1 0 — — 1 0
Career total 136 0 6 0 2 0 0 0 126 0

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Sweden 2023 1 0
Total 1 0

References

  1. ^ a b c Leopold Wahlstedt at Soccerway
  2. ^ a b c Leopold Wahlstedt at WorldFootball.net
  3. ^ a b Petersson, Martin (28 January 2023). "Gallrades bort av AIK och övervägde att sluta – sen tog Wahlstedt "bakvägen" till Blågult". fotbollskanalen (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 23 March 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  4. ^ a b Wagner, Michael (19 September 2022). "Leopold... vem? Blågults nye målvakt en superdoldis för landslaggspelarna". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 30 September 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  5. ^ Tuhcic, Damir (3 April 2018). "Officiellt: Dalkurd FF värvar Leopold Wahlstedt". fotbolltransfers (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 18 November 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  6. ^ "Karlbergs BK – Dalkurd FF 1:2 (Svenska Cupen 2018/2019, 2. Round)". WorldFootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  7. ^ "Lokal spiss og svensk keeper på plass". Arendal Fotball (in Norwegian Bokmål). 15 January 2019. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  8. ^ "Vindbjart – Arendal – 01.05.2019 18.00". Norges Fotballforbund (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 3 August 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  9. ^ "Fredrikstad – Arendal – 04.05.2019 18.00". Norges Fotballforbund (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 3 August 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  10. ^ Leopold Wahlstedt at the Norwegian Football Federation (in Norwegian)
  11. ^ "Swedish stopper signs!". www.rovers.co.uk. 8 August 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  12. ^ "Blackburn Rovers 1-4 Leicester City: Jamie Vardy on target as Foxes win at Ewood Park". BBC Sport. 1 October 2023. Archived from the original on 6 October 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  13. ^ Jackson, Elliott (2 January 2024). "Tomasson addresses Leopold Wahlstedt's Blackburn Rovers form". Lancashire Telegraph. Archived from the original on 17 January 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  14. ^ "Leo Wahlstedt: Goalkeeper departs Blackburn Rovers for Danish side AGF". BBC Sport. 3 July 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  15. ^ Bak, Daniel (25 September 2024). "Uheldig debut: Wahlstedt kørt væk efter sammenstød". bold.dk (in Danish). Archived from the original on 2 October 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  16. ^ Porse, Kristian (26 September 2024). "Trist nyt i AGF: Wahlstedt har brækket knogle i anklen". bold.dk (in Danish). Archived from the original on 2 October 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  17. ^ Roulund, Jonas (20 January 2025). "Wahlstedt er tilbage: - Det føles godt". KSDH (in Danish). Archived from the original on 9 February 2025. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  18. ^ Hvid, Allan (24 April 2025). "AGF skifter målmand". TV 2 Sport (in Danish). Archived from the original on 24 April 2025. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  19. ^ "Sverige – Finland – Matchfakta – Svensk fotboll". www.svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 10 January 2023.