Sead Kolašinac (born 20 June 1993) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for and captains German club Schalke 04, on loan from English club Arsenal, and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.
Born in Germany, Kolašinac represented them at youth international level, before making his senior international debut for Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2013.
Kolašinac began his career in his hometown club, Karlsruher SC. After eight years of playing for Karlsruhe, Kolašinac joined 1899 Hoffenheim, where he played a season before transferring to VfB Stuttgart. A season later, he joined Schalke 04.
Schalke 04
After one season with the youth team, Kolašinac was promoted to the second team, Schalke 04 II, in one of the German lower leagues, Regionalliga West. After scoring two goals in seven matches, he was promoted to the first team. On 15 September 2012, he made his Bundesliga debut in a 2–0 win over Greuther Fürth.
Arsenal
On 6 June 2017, Premier League club Arsenal confirmed the signing of Kolašinac on a free transfer, pending the “completion of all regulatory processes.” Kolašinac scored on his debut against Chelsea in the 2017 FA Community Shield, which Arsenal won on penalties. He made his Premier League debut on the opening day, providing an assist in a 4–3 win over Leicester City.
Return to Schalke 04 (loan)
On 31 December 2020, it was announced that Kolašinac would return to Schalke 04 on loan for the remainder of the season. On 9 January 2021, he made his first start in the Bundesliga in 1337 days, Schalke eventually won 4-0 against Hoffenheim. Then, he was appointed the team’s captain under the head coach Christian Gross. On 27 February 2021, he scored his first goal for the club since his return in a 5-1 defeat against Stuttgart in the Bundesliga.