Sylvester Alexander Jasper ( bg, Силвестър Александър Джаспър; born 13 September 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for

Portimonense Portimonense Sporting Clube is a Portuguese sports club based in Portimão. Founded on 14 August 1914, it is most notable for its professional football team, which currently plays in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. It als ...

. Born in England, he represents Bulgaria at youth level.

Club career

Jasper started his youth career in Queens Park Rangers aged 9 and moved to

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

2 years later. In January 2020 he made his professional debut for the team in a FA Cup match against

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

. On 25 August 2020, Jasper signed his first professional contract with

. On 4 August 2021, Jasper joined League Two side Colchester United on loan until January 2022. He made his debut from the bench on 7 August in Colchester's 0–0 draw with

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

. On 31 January 2022, Jasper joined Scottish club Hibernian on loan for the rest of the season, which included an option to buy at the end of the season. Jasper made 16 appearances for Hibs during the loan, but they declined the option to sign him permanently. On 1 September 2022, Jasper signed for League One club Bristol Rovers on loan for the 2022–23 season. He made his debut two days later as a second half substitute in a 2–2 draw with

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...

. After being left out of the squad for a 2–2 draw against

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

, Rovers manager Joey Barton announced that Jasper was returning to Fulham due to him being unhappy with the amount of game time he has been given. On 5 April 2023, Jasper agreed to join

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

club

with the two clubs having agreed upon a compensation fee.

International career

Jasper was born in England to a Nigerian father and a Bulgarian mother, making him eligible to represent the three countries internationally. In 2016 he represented England at the under-15 level. On 2 November 2021, Jasper received his first call-up to the Bulgarian under-21 side for 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification matches against the Netherlands under-21 and Moldova under-21 sides. He made his debut for the team in the match against the Netherlands.

Personal life

He attended St Richard Reynolds Roman Catholic College in Twickenham from 2013 to 2017. His mother is Bulgarian, and his father is Nigerian, having previously lived in Bulgaria. Jasper's maternal great-uncle is legendary Marek Dupnitsa player Sasho Pargov and Ivaylo Pargov is his uncle.

Career statistics

Club

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jasper, Sylvester 2001 births Living people Footballers from Southwark Bulgarian men's footballers Bulgaria men's youth international footballers English men's footballers England men's youth international footballers Bulgarian people of Nigerian descent English sportspeople of Nigerian descent English people of Bulgarian descent Men's association football forwards Fulham F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Hibernian F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Portimonense S.C. players English Football League players Scottish Professional Football League players English expatriate men's footballers Bulgarian expatriate men's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal