André Alsanati
André Alan Alsanati (; born 6 January 2000) is a professional footballer who plays for IK Sirius in the Allsvenskan. Born in Sweden, he represents Iraq internationally.

Early life
Alsanati was born and raised in Sweden to Iraqi parents.

As a youth player, Alsanati received interest from clubs in England and the Netherlands but he never signed for any of the clubs.

Club career
André was playing football with Eskilstuna-based clubs IFK Eskilstuna and Eskistuna City before Hammarby IF signed him in 2016. He moved on two separate but consecutive one year-loan stints at IK Frej Täby. During his last season with IK Frej, he made thirteen appearances and recorded one assist. 

After that, he moved on a free to AFC Eskilstuna in January 2021 in the Superettan. During the 2021 season, he made twenty-seven appearances for AFC Eskilstuna. He played for AFC Eskilstuna during the 2022 season as well. His performances there attracted interest from Allsvenskan teams, including Elfsborg, but the transfer never materialized.
 
On 14 November 2022, IK Sirius signed Alsanati on a 5-year contract. He was seen as a replacement for Moustafa Zeidan. He was tested in a different position upon arrival. He scored on his debut against Norrkoping.

International career

Alsanati debuted for Sweden national under-17 football team at the age of fifteen and made seven appearances and scored one goal in total for them.

André was first invited to a training camp in Antalya in January 2022 for the Iraq U-23 side. He has since began procedures to obtain an Iraqi passport and represent Iraq internationally. When in Baghdad to complete his paperwork in March 2023, the national team were conducting a training camp in Baghdad so manager Jesús Casas invited the player to train with the squad. On 20 May 2023, it was announced that FIFA completed the transferal of the player's paperwork to make him officially eligible to represent the Lions of Mesopotamia, and was called up to the training camp in Spain to play against Colombia in June 2023.

Style of play
Alsanati has been compared to Lionel Messi due to his dribbling ability.

References

External links
Svenskfotboll profile

 

2000 births
Iraqi men's footballers
Swedish men's footballers
Swedish people of Iraqi descent
Men's association football wingers
IFK Eskilstuna players
Eskilstuna City FK players
Hammarby Fotboll players
AFC Eskilstuna players
Allsvenskan players
Superettan players
Living people